International Stores

This is a shop dating back to the 15th century, with significant alterations in the late 17th or early 18th century and again in the mid-19th century. It is situated in Newent, on the north side of Broad Street. The front of the building is rendered, while the left side features a painted brick gable. The rear shows a mix of brick-nogged timber framing and English-bond brickwork. The structure is a square block with an internal courtyard, extending over two stories with some lofts.

The Broad Street frontage has three windows, with a plain, rendered projecting gable on the left and a moulded plinth on the right return. A single window is blocked, featuring a moulded sill with end consoles, a flat eared surround, and a projecting moulded head resting on consoles. A mid-20th century shop front occupies the right-hand side. Above, the gable brickwork to the right return is rendered, with a plain string course. A two-pane sash window sits above, with a projecting moulded sill on brackets, a plain eared raised surround, and a plain head with a cambered top. Paired sash windows flank the main front, with a single window in the centre. A parapet above the windows features moulded coping and an apex finial. A four-pane wooden window with a pointed head and sill similar to the first-floor windows is positioned within the gable. Behind the parapet is a slated roof. To the right is a plain parapet and a flat roof behind it. The left return front is largely of mid-20th century brickwork. The rear first floor incorporates close-studded timber framing, with a three-light mullion and transom wooden window, showcasing exposed bressumer and wall plate. The ground floor is largely obscured by a housing for a conveyor belt.

The left gable incorporates timber framing (visible internally). An early 18th century brick wing is set back the width of the gable, with a tiled lean-to in front. A single-story wing is partially obscuring the ground floor and is not considered of particular architectural interest. A boarded door is set within a heavy frame. The left gable features a two-light mullion and transom window on the first floor, and a three-light mullion window to the loft. A brick chimney is present on the side.

The interior features a slate-roofed gabled wing with heavy ceiling beams on the ground floor, retaining some of the original main posts, one with a curved brace. A timber-framed wall divides the first floor, while the other three walls of a rear room display close-studded framing. A double chamfer is visible on one wall post within a cross wall. A 17th century door, with three boards and moulded joints, is located in a wing behind. In the loft, a four-bay roof comprises one full and two half trusses, with arch-braced collars and ‘V’ struts shaped to create quatrefoils at the top, and ogee styling on the lower section. Two pairs of flat purlins and a square ridge are present, along with three tiers of wind braces in each bay, shaped to form trefoils where they meet. Gable tie-beams and collars are also visible, along with heavy braces to wall posts on the rear and some surviving studs on the front. Struts appear above the collars. The upper floor of the slated wing was originally open to the roof and was likely converted to a loft in the 17th century. This building represents a significant survival from the medieval period.