48 and 48A, The Close

48 and 48A, The Close are a building dating from the 14th and 15th centuries, although significantly altered in the 17th and 18th centuries. The building is two storeys with an attic, and has a stuccoed front. The roof is gabled and covered with old tiles, with two large hipped dormers featuring 19th-century windows. On the first floor is a late 18th-century casement window to the left and a four-light canted bay to the right, with sash windows and a panelled apron. The ground floor has two 18th-century windows flanking the entrance; one a single sash with thick glazing bars and panelled shutters, and the other tripartite with similar glazing. The six-panel door is set within an architrave surround, with a plain frieze, panelled pilasters, and carved scroll brackets supporting a heavy moulded cornice that breaks forward over the brackets. The south gable end wall, which is visible in a passage, features a stone external chimney with offsets. The original construction used stone rubble and timber framing with brick infilling, now rendered over. A tile-hung section is present at the rear. The east rear elevation displays a built-out section from the early 19th century, with an old stone rubble base to the left, and a first-floor tripartite sash window. A blocked window is on the north side. The upper floor of the wing partially obscures a pair of gables on the main block, one of which shows timber framing. A lower, partly timber-framed wing extends north and east, with restored casements. This north wing incorporates blocks of reused old Sarum stone featuring chevron and star carvings. Internally, remains of the original timber frame survive, including a wall post in the ground floor cloakroom, and beams and a partition in the hall. The front living room exhibits beams showing the former position of an overhang. A section of the wall of the adjoining North Gate is exposed in the small front kitchen, displaying a chequer pattern of stone and flint with a blocked doorway that was formerly used by a night watchman. A room on the first floor’s south side contains 17th-century panelling, possibly reset, with a section hinged using original hinges. A document from 1386 references evidence of a Cathedral Clock winder. Previously used as the Porter's Lodge, the building incorporated the chamber over the North Gate and a prison house within the Close. The listed buildings in The Close together constitute an outstanding group.