Number 88 (The Chantry House) And Attached Forecourt Walls And Gateway

Number 88, known as The Chantry House, is a house dating from the 15th century, with significant alterations made in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is constructed of coursed squared ironstone and limestone, topped with a slate roof and features stone end stacks. The building has a two-unit through-passage plan and is two stories high with a four-window range.

To the left of the center, there is a 19th-century studded plank door set in a moulded wood surround, which is framed by a late 18th-century pedimented wood doorcase. This door is recessed, and above it are the remains of an original jettied timber-framed first floor. The ground floor has three-light 19th-century wood mullion and transom windows with stop-chamfered lintels. A projecting tower on the left end, originally a stair-turret, features moulded stone coping. The first floor has three-and two-light 19th-century casement windows, also with stop-chamfered lintels. The gables are stone-coped with kneelers.

The attached forecourt walls are made of coursed squared ironstone and limestone, topped with ridged ironstone coping. In the middle of the front wall, there is a 15th-century gateway with chamfered jambs and a many-moulded arch featuring a fourth-centred head. The wall steps up above the gateway.

Inside, the two-bay ground floor hall has a moulded cross-beam ceiling and a Tudor-arched stone fireplace with chamfered jambs and a many-moulded head. A stone relief, likely from the 17th century, is incorporated into the wall and depicts an allegorical figure of Victory blowing a trumpet.

The building was originally constructed as a house for the two priests serving Archdeacon Sponne's chantry, which was suppressed during the Reformation. It was bought back in 1552 by the trustees of Sponne's Charity for use as a grammar school and served as both a school and master's house until 1866, when it became a private residence.