9-17, MARKET PLACE

A terrace of former houses, now converted to shops, offices and flats. The building comprises two mid-17th-century structures with interlocking plans that were refronted to the rear (Churchyard) elevation in the early 18th century and to the Market Place frontage in the late 18th century, retaining the distinction between the two original buildings. Nineteenth-century alterations and twentieth-century extensions have been subsequently added.

The Market Place elevation is rendered, probably over timber-framing, with Welsh slate roof to the left and artificial slate roof to the right. One rendered stack is visible over the ridge to the left, with two similar stacks to the right. The Churchyard elevation is faced in coursed squared limestone with ashlar dressings, with a stone slate roof hipped to the left and a rendered ridge stack to the right.

To the left (No. 9), the Market Place elevation rises three storeys with an attic and cellar, arranged as a 3-window range. The first and second floors each contain three 6/6-pane sashes in plain reveals. The ground floor has a 19th-century shopfront with two 4-light windows with moulded timber mullions flanking a half-glazed door with overlight. Cast-iron panels to the stall risers contain openings to the cellar, now blocked. Panelled pilasters flank the door and the outer edges, with carved console brackets flanking a frieze and blind box. Two gabled dormers contain 2-light leaded casements. A lead pipe to the left with lead hopper collects water from the lead pipe at No. 7 Market Place.

To the right, the elevation is 3 storeys and attic, arranged as a 6-window range. The first and second floors each have six plate glass horned sashes in moulded timber surrounds, with two at the centre featuring segmental heads. A 20th-century timber shopfront has three windows with glazing bars, a recessed glazed door to the centre, reeded pilasters, a deep frieze and blind boxes. Five gabled dormers contain 2-light leaded casements.

The rear elevation to the Churchyard has a gable to the left and early 18th-century refacing to the right, rising 3 storeys and attic across a 9-window range. The first floor contains, to the left, two 2-light timber casements, and to the right, seven 6/6-pane sashes in moulded stone architraves with moulded cills and segmental heads with keystones. The second floor has one 3/6-pane sash in a plain reveal to the left and seven sash windows similar to those on the first floor to the right. The ground floor is largely obscured by 20th-century single-storey brick extensions with glazed roofs, except for a 19th-century half-glazed door with overlight set within a cut-down window architrave similar to those above to the right; similar architraves survive inside the extensions. The gable to the left features a 2-light chamfered stone mullion-and-transom window, apparently renewed. Three hipped dormers with 2-light leaded casements are positioned to the right. Moulded strings mark the second floor level and continue in the gable to the left; to the right, band courses rest on the keystones of the ground and first floor windows, with a coved eaves cornice. A small 2-storey extension to the far left has a stone slate hipped roof and a firescape door to the first floor.

The interior to the left (No. 9) contains ground floor features including an incised name "CHAVASSE" in the jamb of the rear door, a beam with ovolo moulding and step stop in the passage to the rear, and two boxed-out beams to the front. A winder staircase of 19th or 20th-century date leads to the first floor. The first floor front has two chamfered beams with run-out stops, supported to the left on carved wall posts with ovolo mouldings and run-out stops, dentil cornice and bracket heads. The second floor front left has two similar wall posts supporting ceiling beams which continue to the front right (boxed out except for a short length on the landing and moulded with carved decoration to the soffit); wall posts to the front right have been removed. A mid-17th-century scissor-string staircase ascends from the first to the third floor, featuring turned balusters, a deep handrail and newel posts with incised mouldings with pendants and mitred capping. The second floor rear contains an early 18th-century stone fireplace and a beam with run-out stop. A 2-bay butt-purlin roof with ridge purlin (probably 18th-century) covers the front range.

Nos. 11-17 contain the following interior features: the ground floor rear right has a reproduction fireplace and a panelled fireplace wall with a shell-hood niche to the right of the chimney-breast and run cornice. The ground floor rear centre has a chamfered beam with run-out stop. A closed string staircase with turned balusters (probably 19th-century) rises from ground to first floor, continuing in simplified form to the second floor. The first floor far right has raised-and-fielded panelling, run cornice, an early 20th-century iron fireplace and two boxed-out beams. The first floor centre has raised moulded panelling, timber cornice, plastered beams with run-out stops featuring broad notches with leaf decoration (comparable to Dunstall House and The Old Grammar School), and a late 18th-century chimneypiece with composition decoration and marble slips but no grate, together with a jib door in the panelling. The first floor rear centre has a plastered beam with run-out stop and broad notch. The second floor front centre contains two boxed-out beams and no fireplace. The gable to the rear has a chamfered stone mullion-and-transom window.

A flat occupying the first and second floors to the rear is approached via a closed string staircase with heavy turned balusters to the rear left, which continues as a dog-leg to the second floor. The first floor rear left and centre have chamfered beams with run-out stops; the first floor rear centre has a reproduction fireplace, cornice and other fittings; the first floor centre front has two chamfered beams with run-out stops and a 19th-century timber fireplace. The second floor rear left is formed by a timber panelled partition, and the second floor rear right and front right have chamfered beams with run-out stops.