Milton Arms Restaurant

The Milton Arms Restaurant is a house dating from the late 16th or early 17th century, with alterations made in the 20th century. It is constructed of squared and coursed Portland stone, with some rendering to the front, and a rear range of light timber-framing with brick nogging. The roof is covered in asbestos-cement slates.

The building is two storeys and an attic, with three windows. The first floor has two-light casements. The ground floor has replacement stone-mullioned casements in three lights, with a central doorway set in a four-centred arch with a stop-chamfered surround. The upper half of the front facade retains rendering, while stonework is exposed below. There are two rooflights and a brick stack to the left. The return side, facing New Street, has a gabled end with a two-light inserted casement, and a lower gabled range to the left with framed upper part over a rubble ground floor. An early bay window in three lights, with a hipped roof, is visible to the left. The rear gable is boarded, and a second gable at the far end of the building is made of brickwork over a rendered wall.

The interior has been significantly altered, but retains a wide bressumer fire in the left-hand half, with stone cheeks and a deep wood bressumer. Behind this, and at right angles to it, is a second fireplace in the rear range, also with stop-chamfered stone cheeks. Various beams with a small chamfer are present. The staircase is located in the rear right corner, in a straight flight to the first floor, which has mainly replacement timbers. A further fireplace is located above the ground floor one, with a deep cambered bressumer. The rear range includes a modern kitchen and a square panel timber-framed partition, with a central beam at the first floor. A spiral staircase within the main block provides access to the attic, which contains a three-bay roof without collars, but with mostly original principals and two purlins. The building offers a rare survival from the period, characterised by low ceiling heights. It was formerly known as Milton House and is mentioned in records of the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments and Ancient Buildings.