22 Barton Street

22 Barton Street, Tewkesbury

This is a house in row, originally built in the early 16th century but substantially remodelled and refronted during the early 17th century. It is constructed of close-stud timber-framing with rendered panels, tile roofs, and brick stacks.

The building presents a lofty structure to Barton Street with twin gables and three jettied storeys. Behind the street frontage, a further gabled structure rises above a central valley, also timber-framed, with a large square external stack at the rear. A throughway passes under the left side of the main double-depth building to a long lower rear wing, also timber-framed. At the junction between main building and rear wing, a projecting diagonally-set oriel window is positioned at ground floor.

The street front is organised in three storeys with an attic and basement. The two gables display painted timber framing and jetties carried on brackets. These overhang two two-light casements with horizontal bar at second floor, set in close-studding with a cill rail. The second storey jetties on brackets over a large central oriel window of five lights with a central transom, supported on a bold curved bracket, flanked by close-stud framing on either side. A continuous moulded fascia-board runs across the full width of the ground floor, which contains a three-pane shop front. To the left, adjacent to the throughway, is an eight-panel fielded door within a doorcase featuring a carved frieze and cornice on small brackets. A moulded jetty-post appears behind this to the right in the throughway passage.

The passage has stone paving and heavy square timber framing, which can be seen to continue in the party wall to the left. At second floor a small two-light casement sits above the adjacent roof. According to S R Jones (1968), pargetting of approximately 1690s date with a shield exists to the rear, though this was not observed at the time of listing.

The ground-floor front room contains two transverse boxed beams with mouldings and fine 18th-century fielded panelling. A 20th-century stair descends to a cellar with two very large chamfered transverse beams, trimmed to accommodate the staircase. The diagonal bay contains three lights with some 15th-century tracery incorporated, though it generally appears to be late 19th-century work, possibly by Thomas Collins. The kitchen in the rear wing has a moulded cornice and central beam. The tight dogleg winder stair features turned balusters and square newels, a moulded handrail and solid string.

The first-floor front parlour is a particularly fine room with very complete early fittings and decoration, extending the full width of the building. It contains an early 16th-century moulded stone four-centred fireplace, above which stands a Jacobean full-height overmantel with strapwork decoration. The walls are fully panelled in 17th-century dark oak to a guilloche frieze, and include a 17th-century door. The decorative plastered ceiling is divided into six full and three half compartments defined by broad moulded beams. The plasterwork panels contain raised-moulding enrichments including daffodil decoration.

The first-floor back room has a post and beam gable and a boxed transverse beam. The 17th-century panelling includes dado work with rosettes in diamond-shaped central motifs with embellishment. The entrance door is three-panel fielded. A 19th-century cast-iron fireplace is present. The winder stair to the second floor has a framed wall to the left, and at the middle landing are two close-set moulded beams. In the attics the rear gabled space contains one large purlin and a small window.

The building represents one of the finer properties in Barton Street, well maintained and retaining considerable 17th-century fabric throughout, with the first-floor front parlour being a particularly notable example of decorative plasterwork.