9, Fairfax Place

9 Fairfax Place is a merchant's house and shop with living space above, located on a medieval site. It dates from the 17th century, with 19th and 20th-century modernizations. The building features mixed construction, including stone rubble side walls and plastered timber-framed walls at the front and back, with a side wall stack and rendered chimneyshafts. The roof is slate.

The building has a plan that is end onto the street and is likely two rooms deep. It stands three storeys tall with a one-window range. The exterior is plastered, showing mostly 20th-century features, but the jetties suggest the survival of original 17th-century timber framing. The ground floor has a 20th-century shop front with a central doorway, and to the right, there is a 20th-century panelled door leading to the house. The upper floors have 20th-century windows with glazing bars. The eaves are plain at the hipped front end of the roof.

The interior was only partially surveyed, with the ground floor cleared of partitions and all carpentry covered. A late 19th-century cast-iron column with a Corinthian capital supports the first-floor structure. The rest of the interior reportedly includes a newel stair, which is likely to be of interest.

Historically, the line of Lower Street was originally the waterfront. The land to the east was reclaimed in the late 16th century, turning it into a main trading street that connected the old quay at Bayards Cove with the 17th-century New Quay around the present Boat Float.