5 And 7, East Street

A pair of cottages, probably originally a single dwelling, dating from the early 16th century with later alterations. Number 5 is an early 16th-century house constructed of rubble, partly plastered and rendered, with a slate roof. It retains a 3-room and through-passage plan, with a kitchen to the left of the passage. The front windows are 20th-century wooden casements. The main doorway is to the left of centre, flanked by large, projecting chimneystacks with set-offs and tapered tops which originally served the hall and kitchen. Remnants of a chamfered string course run at sill level in the second storey.

The interior of Number 5 features plank walls with head beams of plank and screens visible above. The kitchen has chamfered ceiling beams with step stops. The hall, to the right, has beams with double-ogee mouldings and stops carved with leaf designs. Joists extend over the passage (now plastered, but visible when floorboards were temporarily removed) and are chamfered with run-out and bar stops. A rectangular stair turret is located behind the hall. Doorways on both storeys have round-headed wooden frames, chamfered on the stair side with shouldered jambs. The roof retains many original trusses, including at least two side-pegged jointed crucks with no ridge piece; all surviving collars are cambered and purlins are threaded.

Number 7 is a 17th-century addition or rebuilding of the parlour end, constructed of rendered rubble. It features a large axial stack, with smaller, later gable-end stacks to the front range. A later 18th- or 19th-century gable-ended extension is at the rear. The roof is now covered in asbestos, and the windows are a mix of 20th-century metal casements, some with applied leading to the glazing.

Internally, Number 7 was formerly the parlour range to Number 5. Connecting doors are now blocked but remain visible as alcoves with timber lintels. A chamfered ceiling beam with scroll-stops is present in the front range, along with a fireplace with a planted or repositioned bressumer under a brick relieving arch. A winder stair immediately behind the axial stack provides access to the first floor. Visible purlins are set in the wall of the front range. A 20th-century flat-roofed extension is considered not of special architectural interest.

The property is listed at grade II* for the survival of an early 16th-century hall with a cross-passage within Number 5, representing significant survival of original plan form and fabric. The extent of survival is greater within Number 5 than in Number 7, which has undergone alterations internally and externally in recent years and reflects a later phase of lesser significance.