Court House To Rear Of Number 27 And Attached Wall

The Court House, located to the rear of Number 27 on St John's Street in Malmesbury, is a Grade I listed medieval hospital building that dates back to possibly the late 12th century, with a roof from the early 15th century and alterations made in 1623. Constructed from limestone rubble with a rendered gable, it features a brick gable stack and a stone slate roof. The building has a three-bay plan that runs at right angles to the street and was originally extended further to the east.

The exterior is single-storey with a three-window range. On the right side, there is a doorway with a 20th-century door and a 20th-century buttress to the left. The casement windows have timber lintels and glazing bars, while the north elevation showcases mullion windows with leaded lights. Purlins extend from the eastern gable.

Inside, the Court House features a partly open roof with arch-braced collar trusses and mortices for wind braces, along with steeply battered inner walls. The 18th-century court fittings include a raised oak bench with a panelled back at the western end for the Warden and Capital Burgesses, and desks in front of the dais with turned balusters and square newels, the earliest date scratched on the desks being 1745. A panelled screen or bar separates the area where 24 Assistant Burgesses gathered from the public. A court chest with six locks is kept in this area, and the High Steward's chair on the dais, which dates to 1842, features a painted panel of Arms dated 1693.

An attached rubble wall extends approximately 3 meters from the northeast corner of the building. Historically, this site was part of the Hospital of St John and possibly included one of the conventual buildings, purchased by the Old Corporation in 1580. It served as almshouses from 1597 and as a Court and Free School from 1629. The Old Corporation has held meetings here since 1616. The projecting purlins and the attached wall suggest that the Court House may have originally extended further. This building is an extremely rare surviving example of a medieval hospital, and its 17th and 18th-century fittings represent a significant example of a small provincial Court Room.