Premises Of J And J Loader Wheatsheaf (The Old Assembly Rooms)

This building, located in the Market Place of Sturminster Newton, began as assembly rooms and an inn around 1800. It is now two shops. Constructed of coursed and squared rubble, it features a slate roof with brick stacks at each end. The building presents a symmetrical facade. The ground floor has two 20th-century shop fronts, with a central passage leading to the rear, sheltered by an elliptical arch. The upper floor has three three-light sash windows, each set within a moulded architrave with glazing bars and topped with a flat arch. The building’s former identity was as the Crown Inn. Historical documentation, including references from the "Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, Dorset Vol III" and "The Buildings of England: Dorset" by Newman and Pevsner, provides further context.