9, Oxford Street

No. 9 Oxford Street is a Grade II* listed building located in Malmesbury. Originally a guild hall, it was divided into a pair of cottages until its restoration in 1990, after which it became a café. The building dates back to the 15th century, with alterations made in the 16th and 17th centuries. It features an open hall plan that runs at right angles to the street.

Constructed from rubble with ashlar dressings, the building has a stone slate roof that is half-hipped at the front and includes lower side cross gables. The left-hand gable has a lateral stack topped with brick. The exterior is two stories high and has a two-window range. The gable features a central boarded door flanked by 19th-century shop windows, each containing 12 panes, and a 3/3-pane sash window above the door. The left side of the building has chamfered ashlar dressings around a small window near the front, dressings around a blocked window within the stack, and two 19th-century 3/3-pane sash windows towards the rear. The stack incorporates re-used ashlar blocks, and a small terracotta finial is positioned above the hip.

Inside, the open hall contains a chimney breast that was rebuilt in 1990, with a battered section above the fireplace. There are four collar trusses facing south, featuring chamfered arch braces, timber pads, a diagonal threaded ridge beam, a vertical ridge joint, and wind braces in the two lower registers.

A cast-iron nameplate inscribed "Market Lane" is located on the return of the building. Historically, it is likely the Guild House of the Merchants Guild of the Alderman and Burgesses, which was granted a charter by Henry IV in 1411, suggesting that the building may date from that time. A late 16th-century floor was inserted, and the chamfered ceiling beams were removed during the restoration. This building is a significant surviving example of its type.