Palmer Almshouses

The Palmer Almshouses, built in 1892, take their inspiration from the design of a 16th-century manor house, featuring a prominent timbered front. The building is two storeys high and consists of four bays, with a recessed bay to each side. The overall plan is deliberately asymmetrical. The walls are brick infill between timber framing, and the roofs are tiled with two brick chimneys, each with ridged sides. The front is gabled, with a further gable projecting to the right. Decorative carved plant motifs adorn the gables; the left-hand gable is jettied over the first floor, supporting a five-light oriel window, and exhibits herringbone timbering. A ground-floor bay, located to the right of centre and set within the angle of the projecting right-hand gable, has a lean-to roof that continues over the porch. The first-floor windows are mullioned, while the ground-floor windows are mullioned and transomed. A hipped-gabled porch is situated to the right, in the angle with the recessed wing, and a similar lean-to porch, featuring a wooden balustrade on each side, is on the left. The left-hand wing has a smaller gable with decorative woodwork. The entrances are ledged doors fitted with decorative wrought iron hinges. A central terracotta tablet displays the date of construction and a dedication.