Warehouse Adjoining To Rear Of No 153

Warehouse. Built in the mid-to-late 17th century, with alterations in the 19th century. Constructed mainly of brick, with some stone rubble footings; some timber framing, either brick nogged or weatherboarded. The roof is slate. The original front of the building, which is the long south-west side, is now hidden behind a 20th-century shed. The ground floor is likely 19th century, made of brick with some stone rubble in the left bay, joining the original brick of the left gable end wall. The first floor is a 19th-century timber frame of slender scantling, with some brick nogging and the right end weatherboarded. The remaining two outer walls are of original 17th-century brick to eaves level, the left end wall on stone rubble footings. The brickwork is not laid in a regular bond. A discontinuous platband is above first floor level. The left end wall has a central window on each floor; the lower one is shuttered, and the upper one is a pivoting casement with glazing bars. The gable is 19th century, a brick-nogged timber frame. A doorway has been inserted into the back wall on the ground floor, and there is a loading hatch door on the first floor. The first floor interior retains substantial original carpentry, with three bays carried on roughly chamfered crossbeams. Most of the plain joists are original, except for the bay adjoining the back block. The red brick floor is 19th century. The roof is 3½ bays (originally 4) and is supported by side-pegged jointed cruck trusses with dovetail-shaped lap-jointed collars fixed by oak pegs, possibly augmented by iron spikes. The purlins and boarded roof are 19th century and have a slightly lower pitch than the original. This warehouse is a significant survival from a period of Exeter's commercial prosperity. It may have always been a warehouse, but the possibility of an original open front suggests a specific industrial purpose, potentially resembling a linhay. It is thought that the building may have been associated with the storage of wool or cloth, reflecting Exeter’s 17th-century wool trade.