39 Westgate Street

A shop and dwelling, originating in the late C16 as the eastern half of a two-bay building; extended to the rear soon after construction; the front range was then rebuilt in the early C19. The structure has undergone a C21 renovation.

MATERIALS: the front block is red brick laid in Flemish and English Garden Wall bonds, painted to the principal elevation. The upper floors of the C16 rear range are timber-framed and rendered, with a first-floor jetty on the west side of Bull Lane underbuilt in brick. The building has a slate roof.

PLAN: the building stands at the junction of Westgate Street and Bull Lane. It is a narrow, linear range, consisting of the C19 block to the north-east, whose principal elevation faces onto Westgate Street, and the C16 range adjoining to the south-west, facing onto Bull Lane.

EXTERIOR: the principal elevation is a single bay and of three storeys. The ground floor has a late-C20 shopfront with a recessed entry to the left, with a plain panel fascia above. The two upper floors each have a one-over-one horned sash window in a flat-arched opening with stepped-and-raised voussoirs and projecting stone sill. Above is a moulded cornice and a high brick parapet. The front range of the elevation to Bull Lane is blind brick, rendered along the base. Beyond, to the left, are the two timber-framed bays surviving from the C16. These have a jettied first floor, supported on two timber posts with knee braces, with brick infill and under-building. The projecting timber-framed first floor has a close-studded elevation, rendered above. Fenestration is within irregular openings, replaced in the C21. The south-westernmost bay along Bull Lane, adjacent to the timber-framed range, dates from the C20. The roof, hidden by the parapet, is pitched with a hip at the north-east end.

INTERIOR: within the front range the shop unit has modern finishes, though an exposed chamfered storey post is understood to survive. On the upper floors, there are various early-C19 features, including reeded plaster cornices, moulded architraves, panelled doors and skirtings. The timber-framed partition within the front range of the adjacent no 41 is concealed behind modern finishes.

Within the C16 rear range, various timbers are left exposed, including part of the southern truss, pre-dating the C19 raising of the roof. There is a fireplace and a small cupboard on the north wall, probably dating to the C18.

A stair was built within the rear range as part of the C19 redevelopment. This was removed in the C21 to reveal a scheme of wall painting. This has been conserved and depicts an oak panelled dado and tapestry above.