The Old Bakery

The Old Bakery is a house and bakery located in Lower Middleton, Middleton Cheney. It dates from the 17th century, with later enlargements in the 18th and 19th centuries. The building is constructed from coursed limestone and ironstone rubble, topped with a slate roof and features flanking brick and stone stacks. Originally designed as a single cell, the structure was expanded by one bay to the left in the 18th century, and a projecting bakery wing was added in the 19th century.

The building stands two storeys high with an attic and cellar, comprising three bays. The doorway in the second bay from the right has a wooden lintel and a 20th-century ribbed plank door, with an overlight featuring a stone mullion and a square hood above it. To the right, there is a three-light window with stone mullions and a square hood, and a similar window is found in the right bay on the first floor. The central bay has a two-light window with stone mullions but no hood, while the left bay contains a small one-light window with a wooden lintel.

The 19th-century wing projects from the left side and is made of coursed limestone and ironstone rubble with a corrugated iron roof. This wing is also two storeys high and has three bays. The doorway in the left bay features a wooden lintel and a half-glazed door, while the second and third bays have doorways with stone lintels and plank doors. The ground floor includes sash windows with stone lintels, and the right bay on the first floor has similar windows. The left and central bays contain two- and three-light casements.

Inside, there is a 17th-century well staircase with flat balusters and square newels topped with moulded finials. A dog gate is located on the first flight of stairs. This staircase is noted as the earliest framed stair recorded in a small house within the region, according to R.B. Wood-Jones. The interior also features stop-chamfered ceiling joists.