74, 74A, 76 and 76A High Street

This building, now comprising two shops and two flats, was originally a house or inn, dating to 1663. It has been altered in the 19th and 20th centuries. The building is constructed of bargate rubble stone with red-brick dressings and a plain tile roof. It is two storeys with an attic, and has four bays. The front features two 20th-century shop fronts, which are not of particular interest, plus a panelled door leading to flat 76A. A moulded brick cornice with tile weathering runs along the ground and first floors, punctuated by a band of raised brick ovals and lozenges. The first-floor cornice rises centrally into a segmental pediment broken by a rainwater pipe.

The windows have flat brick arches. The first floor windows are three-light, while those in the attic are two-light, all with mid-19th century decorative square- and polygonal-paned glazing. Strapwork panels are between the first-floor windows, and there are pendant finials at each end, with a more elaborate central panel containing an oval datestone. The attic originally had four gables with strapwork, which were joined in the 19th century to form a coped parapet sloping down at each end; three old rainwater heads are present. A large, multi-flue ridge stack sits centrally.

The rear of the building has a late 19th-century addition that is not of special interest. A round-arched door provides access to flat 76A. The first floor features strapwork decoration, and wood-mullioned three-light windows with flat brick arches. The right-hand window retains two diamond-leaded lights, while the left-hand window is masked by the later addition. A stepped cornice is also present. The attic has four gables, each with header-brick-arched two-light windows; the two right-hand gables have iron casements with saddle bars and diamond-leaded glazing, while the left-hand gable is masked by a later stack.

The left return, visible from the rear, has strapwork and cornices matching the rear elevation. The ground floor shows a blocked former doorway and window, with an inserted doorway on the right. A three-light window is on the first floor, and the gable has an over-sailing, brick-banded triangular pediment. The right return is more plain, with a first-floor band and cornice. The ground floor contains two blocked wood-mullioned two-light windows and an inserted door (leading to flat 74A). A partly blocked wide, wood-mullioned attic window is also present, and the gable is tile-hung and half-hipped.

Inside, the building has large-scantling chamfered beams with lambs tongue stops. On the first floor, flat 76A has some scratch-moulded plank and muntin panelling and an old winder stair with turned balusters leading to the attic, which contains an old panelled cupboard door. The building is a notably exuberant example of 17th-century brickwork.