18, The Close

18 The Close is a Grade II* listed building, originally the Common Hall of the Vicars Choral, which dates back to the early 14th century, with some remains bequeathed in 1319-20. The front part of the house was recased and heightened in the early 19th century. It is three storeys tall and has a stucco façade with flat eaves beneath a hipped slate roof. The front is asymmetrical, featuring a projecting left-hand wing. The entrance is located below road level and there are two windows on the upper floors, along with one window on the ground floor and a six-panel door on the right-hand side. This door has panelled reveals and a doorcase with Doric pilasters, a simplified entablature, and a moulded pediment. The right-hand part of the building has a three-pane wide window on the second floor and four-pane wide windows on the first and ground floors, all with drip moulds.

At the rear, there is an early two-storey section that is tile hung with a gable end and an old tile roof, mostly from the 16th and 17th centuries. The west wall retains a section of original materials, including flint stone, rubble, and diagonally set tiles. The wing features exposed beams and two bays of roof structure with intact windbraces and purlins, as well as one collar. All the listed buildings in The Close form an outstanding group.