1-4, VICAR'S CLOSE

The group value of 1-4 Vicar’s Close is significant. Originally a narrow court, the east side was converted into shops in the early 19th century, with a high wall then built to separate the two ranges. The buildings date primarily to the 15th century, with later additions largely from the 18th century and an 18th-century extension at the rear. They are two storeys high and roughly four bays each. The east front is plastered, and the roofs are covered in red tiles. Number 3 has a gable with two windows. Number 1 features a blocked entrance with a trefoil-headed arch at the south end, and a blocked three-centred opening at the north end. Number 3 has a blocked 13th-century opening at the south end, another opening discovered in the original west wall, and a two-light trefoiled window at the north end. Number 4 has a similarly headed window of one light on the first floor. The doors are six-panelled, with the top two panels cut away and glazed, except for Number 3. Number 2 has a doorway with columned shafts and a frieze decorated with diamond and quatrefoil panels above. Number 3 has a four-centred stone doorway. Number 4 has an 18th-century doorway within a moulded frame surmounted by a pediment. Inside the front range is a 15th-century or earlier king-post roof and wattle and daub infilling. A wall painting was uncovered in Number 3, between the collar beam and tie beam in the second room from the north on the first floor; it comprises roundels painted in red earth on a white background.