40, Fore Street

This house, now a shop with rooms above, dates to around the 17th century and was partly remodelled in the mid-19th century. It was repaired after a fire in 1975. The building has a timber frame and is clad in slate, with a scantle slate roof featuring a half-hipped gable at the front and gabled ends to the right and left. A large stone stack with a brick shaft is located at the rear. Originally designed with a single-depth plan, it was extended to the rear.

The front of the building is symmetrical with three windows, arranged over three storeys. The ground floor features a late-19th century, canted glazed shop front, with a partly glazed door to the left of centre and a further door to the right. A moulded cornice runs above. The first floor has three 12-pane sash windows without horns, and a moulded bressumer sits above. The second floor has a central double 2-light casement window with glazing bars.

Inside, the ground floor has chamfered ceiling beams. A circa-19th century staircase has a simple timber screen on the first floor, and a round arched opening with moulded pilasters and a key. Several original 18th-century 2-panelled doors remain. Some original roof timbers have been preserved and supported after the fire damage; these include principals dying into the side of the wall plate, with a chamfered post introduced to support the centre collar.