St Mary House

St Mary House, Chippenham

House, now offices. The building dates from the late 15th and early 16th centuries, with significant extension and refronting in the early 18th century (datestone 1717 above doorway). It is constructed of limestone rubble with freestone quoins and dressings, with a stone slate roof. The 18th-century south block is hipped, featuring two hipped gables with stone slate cheeks and ashlar stacks at the gable ends, with one lateral stack to the left of centre of the 16th-century block.

The original plan comprises an open hall range and inner room surviving from the late medieval house, which probably originally had a front lateral stack to the hall. This hall was ceiled over in the late 16th century, and a rear stair turret was built at this period. A left-hand (south) parlour block was constructed in the early 18th century, with front and rear stacks.

The exterior is two storeys. The earlier block displays a three-window range, with the early 18th-century block forming a cross-wing to the left. The earlier three-window block has mostly late 20th-century 6/6-pane sash windows, those to the first floor positioned at eaves level. Two ground-floor windows to the right have timber lintels, while those to the right of the stack have plain freestone surrounds. The stack dates from at least the late 16th century and features a coved cornice, with the flue above rebuilt in the 18th century in ashlar. To the left of the stack is a hood on carved brackets supporting a mid or late 18th-century six-panel door, above which is a late 19th-century 3/3-pane sash window and an oval plaque bearing the relief lettering "GL/1717". A coved eaves cornice of early 18th-century date continues around the projecting early 18th-century block, which has mostly late 20th-century sashes set in moulded stone architraves with cornices to the ground floor.

To the rear, a curved wall surrounds a central stair turret positioned between the hall and inner room, featuring a chamfered loophole. A 6/6-pane sash window sits above a 20th-century door with concrete lintel. Paired late 20th-century 6/6-pane sash windows lie to the right of the turret. The range beyond features a rendered and timber-framed gable (rebuilt in the late 20th century) with a 20th-century casement window above a 17th-century ashlar Tudor arch, now fitted with a 20th-century Gothic glazed window.

The left-return wall (to the south) of the early 18th-century block has a coved eaves cornice and bracketed gutter. Four tall late 20th-century sash windows at first-floor level are set in moulded architraves with cornices. A central stair window between floors and two ground-floor windows to the left are similarly treated. To the right of centre, a similar architrave now contains French windows, while at the far right stands a blind window in a plain architrave with painted glazing bars. Hipped dormers with two-light casements and stone slate cheeks are present. A stack and blocked two-light stone-mullioned window appear to the rear.

The interior contains a five-bay late medieval roof. The roof over the hall is divided into two plus one bays, the left-hand bay over the original through passage having been originally closed off from the two-bay hall. This roof features windbraces to two tiers of in-line butt purlins with a diagonally-set ridge purlin, and the central truss has chamfered arch braces to a cranked collar. The two bays over the inner room were not inspected in detail, but collar trusses with a left-hand king post are noted.

In the late 16th century, the hall was ceiled over and fine moulded and quartered ground-floor beams survive from this period. The first floor has an early 18th-century barrel-vaulted plaster ceiling built beneath the arch-braced trusses, featuring rope-moulded ribs with urn stops beneath the trusses. A mid-19th-century fireplace survives on the ground floor, and a late 18th-century fireplace with fluted frieze is also present.

The stair turret contains timber winder stairs with a 16th-century doorway opening onto the ground floor, featuring a chamfered arch to the inner face (towards the stairs) and a rebated outer face. The inner end has large stop-chamfered beams to the ground floor. A blocked 16th-century window with diamond-section timber mullions and grained late 17th-century panels reset in a late 20th-century frame is visible at first-floor level.

The early 18th-century block has retained many original features. These include dogleg stairs with toad-back handrail and fret-cut brackets beneath 20th-century plain balusters to the closed string. Panelled doors remain throughout. A ground-floor room features fielded panelling with a bolection-panelled overmantel. A first-floor room has panelled dado, partially renewed in the late 20th century. Collar trusses with in-line butt purlins support the roof of this block.

The building is of historical significance as an interesting late medieval house. The absence of smoke blackening to the roof indicates that a lateral stack was provided from the outset. The fine early 18th-century block was probably constructed on the site of the earlier service end, as it adjoins the site of the late medieval through passage.