The Property Shop, Premises Occupied By S Wicket And House Adjoining At The South

The Property Shop, formerly a house, now partly used as shops with accommodation above, has origins in the 17th century, with significant remodelling in the 18th century and alterations in the 19th century. Further alterations were in progress at the time of a 1984 survey. The main range is north-facing and likely originally constructed of cob, with a pebble-dashed front, while the rear range is rendered and has a squared rag slate roof. The original through-passage plan is evident in the main range, with a hall to the right of the passage. A rear door from the passage leads to a rear courtyard. Wings extend to the west and east of the main range, and a south range with an adjoining gatehouse forms the rear wall of the courtyard.

The north range has a four-window front. A 20th-century shop front with a shop doorway is located on the left, flanked by rusticated pilasters with paired timber brackets supporting a moulded cornice. The shop window is large and has a 2 over 1 sash. A half-glazed, two-leaf shop door is above a 2-light rectangular fanlight. A house entrance is to the right, with a 12-pane sash window on the ground floor. Four first-floor windows were originally 3 over 6 sashes, with one remaining intact. The rear passage door has an ovolo-moulded doorway with runout stops.

Interior features include remains of a decorated plaster frieze from the 17th-century hall on the right gable end wall, visible behind the wall of a ground floor room. Panelled doors, a closed-string stair, and a moulded plaster cornice to a ground floor room all date from the 18th-century remodelling. Tilework in the passage and a plaster cornice in the ground floor room to the right are 19th-century additions.

The south range and gatehouse have a two-plus-one window front. A moulded cross beam is found at the south end of the passage below the gatehouse, and the gatehouse chamber appears to have had a canted plaster ceiling. A 3-light and a 4-light window with timber frames and ovolo-moulded mullions and timber subdivisions intact survive in the gatehouse. The roof was replaced around the early 20th century.

The house adjoins the Old Post Office and represents an important 17th-century survival within the early buildings of Church Square.