12, The Close

12 The Close is a Grade II* listed building that likely stands on the site of the Hall of the Vicars' Choral, dating back to the early days of the Cathedral's foundation. The structure contains elements from the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, while the exterior appears to be from the 16th and 17th centuries, with later alterations. The building is two stories high with an attic, featuring a stuccoed gabled front adorned with 19th-century bargeboards and an old tiled roof.

The attic has a four-light casement window, and there is an angular bay window on the first floor with a panelled apron and a moulded cornice. On the ground floor, beneath the bay, is a window with four panes. To the right, there is a six-panel flush door with an architrave surround and a small flat moulded hood. At the back, a long range known as the Hall has a roof that slopes down to the ground floor ceiling level and includes two three-light hipped dormers, with a portion of the wall tile-hung and gabled to the south.

Inside, the entrance passage features a large six-light wooden window with cusped lights, likely reset from the late 15th or 16th century. There is a tall stone entrance arch leading into the screens passage, with three low pointed arches to the left that open into the kitchen and offices. Other stone door surrounds are present. The drawing room boasts a fine 15th-century fireplace with quatrefoil panels, although the brackets and jambs have been partly renewed. There is also reset 17th-century panelling, and parts of the roof structure remain, with others encased. The roof features two trusses and windbraces between the purlins, principals, brackets, and wall posts, while the attic contains some timber partitions and visible curved windbraces.

All the listed buildings in The Close create an outstanding group.