91, Crane Street

This is a large house, originally dating back to the mid-14th century, with significant additions and alterations through the 16th, 18th, and 20th centuries. It is prominently situated on Crane Street, with a visible south range set at right angles to the street. The main street-facing section was constructed in the late 16th century, around 1575, with the east half replacing approximately one and a half bays of the older south range. Further remodelling occurred in the 18th century.

The building is three storeys high with a basement. The lower portion is faced with ashlar stone, stuccoed up to the first floor. The upper floors feature a timber-framed and plastered facade, with an oversailing upper section supported by moulded cornices and ground floor bays. The roof is tiled, with two half-hipped gables containing a central chimney stack, which includes one diamond-shaped and two square shafts. The gables each feature a semi-circular three-light window on the second floor. The first floor has two windows beneath each gable, dating from the early to mid-18th century. Two rectangular bay windows are visible on the ground floor, each with a ten-light moulded stone mullion and transom window, featuring two lights on each side, and large diagonal panes. A four-light moulded stone mullioned window illuminates the basement in each bay. A single flush sash window, situated within a brick-faced bay above the entrance, is also present.

The main entrance comprises an eight-panelled oak door, set within an eaved moulded architrave, and sheltered by a portico of two stone painted Doric columns and two engaged columns supporting a moulded cornice and pediment. The door opens into a paved hall leading to inner double doors, each with four panels and an arched fanlight featuring wrought iron scrollwork. The doorway itself is framed by wooden Doric pilasters, a bolection frieze, and a moulded cornice, with panelled spandrels.

The original south range, dating back to the mid-14th century, is timber-framed with a stone west wall. Its roof displays a crown post structure of an unusual type, originally four bays wide, now reduced to two and a half. A 15th-century extension and a more modern addition are also present in this section. A rear block, built in the early 18th century, connects at a right angle between the two earlier ranges. The western entrance and passage were remodelled and rebuilt, coinciding with the construction of the adjacent building, number 93 Crane Street.

The building’s interior, particularly the street-facing block, suffered damage during a restoration in the 1930s. This involved the fracturing of several beams and the extensive removal of panelling and fireplaces; these were subsequently shipped to the United States. Despite this, some original features remain, including cambered tie beams and carpenters' marks. A fragment of a 14th-century stone doorway has been preserved. The interior also boasts two plaster ceilings: a small 18th-century example and a larger, probably Jacobean ceiling on the first floor, characterized by deeply moulded ribs in interlocking geometrical patterns and small pendants.

Numbers 87 to 101 (odd) are noted as forming an important architectural group.