16, Smith Street

This property comprises two small houses, now combined into a single residence, possibly with a ground-floor shop originally on the Smith Street side. The rear section appears to date from the 16th or 17th century, while the front section likely originates from the 18th century or earlier, although both have been altered by 19th and 20th-century renovations. The building is of mixed construction, with stone rubble side walls and timber-framed front and back walls. It has left-end and rear lateral brick chimneyshafts with decorative pots. The roof is slate-covered.

The Smith Street front block was likely originally occupied by a shop with a side passage on the left. Above the shop is a house with a single room. The rear block, which once likely stood as a separate house, projects at a right angle towards Church Close. A later lean-to structure fills the narrow courtyard along the left side of the rear block.

The front block on Smith Street is three stories, while the rear block facing Church Close is four stories. The Smith Street façade is superficially of early 20th-century design, with plasterwork, but the ground floor is stone rubble and the upper levels are timber-framed. A passage doorway at ground-floor level contains a modern part-glazed door. A pair of modern, wide windows to the right are believed to have replaced an earlier shop window, and other windows are modern casements. The eaves are plain. The roof is gable-ended and slate-hung on the right side. The Church Close front is also plain and plastered, featuring modern windows, including a pair of horned four-pane sash windows. The steep pitch of the Church Close gable suggests a 16th or 17th century (or potentially earlier) structure.

The interior has not been inspected but is likely to contain features of interest.