The Valiant Soldier, Including Rear Wing

This house, which was once a public house and includes a rear wing, likely originated in the 17th century, with alterations made in the late 19th century. The main block is roughcast, while the rear elevation is cement-rendered. Both have natural slate roofs, gabled at the ends with crested ridge tiles. The rear wing is partly slate-hung and partly has a corrugated asbestos roof. Stacks have stone rubble shafts.

The main block has a plan of two rooms with a cartway at the left end, providing access to a courtyard. The rear right wing faces onto this courtyard and consists of a domestic block with a stable block behind it.

The front of the main building is asymmetrical, with a 2:2-window arrangement under separate roofs, the left-hand roof being lower. It has deep eaves. The left-hand section, with the cartway at the left, has two ground-floor windows which are probably late 19th century tripartite plate-glass and horned sashes, and two 4-pane first-floor windows, also horned. The right-hand block has a recessed 6-panel door and a tripartite sash window to the right, with two matching 4-pane sashes above. The pub name is displayed on a panel on the first floor.

The rear elevation is irregular, suggesting a core dating before the 19th century. The rear wing has two separate roofs; the part nearest the main block has a domestic function, with a first-floor 12-pane boxed sash window. The disused rear section of the wing has a cart entrance at one end, plus three stable entrances, two with segmental-headed brick arches. Four small, unglazed windows are also present, one with mullions. There are two first-floor loft openings, one also with mullions. The roof of this section has been reduced in height, and a stack between the domestic and stable parts of the wing originally served the stable range. Access to the courtyard is afforded by a culverted section of the River Mardle, which previously allowed easy access for cattle from the fields on the other side.

The interior is not accessible but is likely of interest. The courtyard, known as Bastows Court, Hunt's Court, or Hayman's Court, is one of the larger ones on the north side of Fore Street and was formerly surrounded by cottages. It now contains a building used for light industrial purposes and was previously used, in part, as a butcher’s business.