9, The Close

9 The Close is a Grade II* listed building, originally constructed in the 17th century and later refaced in the 18th century. It is a two-storey structure with an attic, built of red brick. The north entrance front features a projecting plinth and a first-floor string course, with wide brick rusticated quoins that are colourwashed. The hipped roof is covered with old tiles and includes three hipped dormers. The eaves have a small moulded cornice.

The building has five windows on the first floor, with a tripartite window in the center, and four symmetrical windows on the ground floor. The windows are framed with flush architraves and retain their glazing bars, featuring flat rubber arches and six-panel shutters on the ground floor. The central entrance is highlighted by a door with six fielded panels, a panelled frame, and a large arched fanlight with a concentric and radiating glazing pattern. A Doric porch with stone columns, painted pilasters on the wall face, and a painted entablature with a dentil cornice supports an open segmental dentil and moulded pediment hood.

The west front is finished in colourwashed stucco and has an old tile roof with one leaded dormer casement. A projecting left-hand wing mirrors the design of the north front, featuring one window on the first floor and an early 19th-century eight-light mullioned and transomed window with French casements and large sliding shutters on the ground floor. The remainder of this side has two windows on the first floor and one 19th-century window with a glazed door on the ground floor.

Inside, the kitchen and hall contain panelling believed to be from the former Cathedral choir stalls, likely designed by Sir Christopher Wren for Bishop Seth Ward. The hall features mid-18th-century panelling with open pediments supported by Corinthian pilasters. The stair entrance, dating from the late 17th century, includes two arches and a rusticated square pillar, while the staircase from the same period has a closed string, posts with vases, and one room boasts an impressive Rococo stucco ceiling. The roofline of the wing at the rear extends over No 8 The Close.

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