Former Solicitor'S Office

The former solicitor's office, now a National Trust store, is likely from the 17th century but was refaced in the 19th century. It features a stucco exterior and a slate roof, standing two stories tall with three bays. The building has a top frieze and deep bracketed eaves, with quoins at the corners. The first bay includes a first-floor passage leading to Red Lion Yard. The ground floor has a canted bay window with small-paned glazing and iron rails in the second bay, while the third bay contains a window with paired sashes that have glazing bars and horns. On the first floor, the windows are sashed with glazing bars and have label moulds; the second bay's window also has horns, and the third bay features a Venetian window with sashes, glazing bars, and horns. The entrance is marked by an architrave and a four-panel door. The building has lateral and gable-end stacks, and the rear includes a horizontally sliding sash window in the attic. The rear wing has a recess on the ground floor with access to a slate cellar, and three-light wooden-mullioned windows on two sides of the recess. There was once an open gallery above, which has now been infilled with glazed bricks. The interior is reported to contain 18th-century fittings according to a National Trust survey. The office was once owned by W. Heelis, who was the husband of Beatrix Potter, and the property is a gift to the National Trust from her.