No. 6 Clark'S Yard

No. 6 Clark's Yard is a small town house dating to the late 18th century, situated in Whitby. The front of the house is constructed of brick in a Flemish bond pattern, while the rear wall is of coursed stone, predominantly in a herringbone tooled style. The roof is covered with modern pantile tiles.

The house has a single-depth plan of two bays, with the main entrance located slightly right of centre on the south front. A winder staircase is situated just east of centre at the rear. The eastern bay on both the first and attic floors has been subdivided to create a landing and two smaller rooms.

The south-facing front features a six-panelled door protected by a shallow, timber-panelled porch with a decorative top light and a flat, corniced hood. First and second floor windows are hornless sash windows with exposed sash boxes. The windows to the right are 8-over-8 pane, while those to the left are wider, being 10-over-10 pane, and all have stone wedge lintels. Evidence suggests the ground floor windows once had external shutters. Dormers have been added later. Shared end stacks are visible, and stone coping defines the west gable.

The rear elevation is largely blind, with the exception of a fixed stair window and a small, modern insertion window on the first floor. The stonework displays two phases of construction; mainly dressed and coursed large stone blocks, but with an area of rougher rubble stonework in the ground floor’s western bay.

The ground floor interior features six-panelled doors to a small lobby, the staircase within the east room, and to the principal west-facing reception room. This reception room has timber architraves to the door, window, and flanking former built-in cupboards around the fireplace. These architraves, likely dating to the early 19th century, incorporate corner blocks with concentric circles. The western room on the first floor also has a six-panelled door with a matching architrave. This room retains a hob grate set within a stone surround.

In the attic, a stick balustrade leads to the landing. The western room has a hob grate with a simple stone surround. Doors are four-panelled and have been rehung. The roof structure consists of sawn timber, with pegged purlins and a ridge board. One truss is partially enclosed within the stud wall separating the two attic rooms.

Documentary evidence including a conveyance from 1829, reveals a transfer of ownership from the Sanders family to Peter Larking, with a stipulation that the only opening in the north wall should be a single fixed light of obscure glass, matching the dimensions of the current stair window. Earlier wills relating to the property date back to 1787.

No. 6 Clark's Yard is designated at Grade II for being a good example of a pre-1840 town house, retaining features like the porch, sash windows with exposed sash boxes, hob grates, and early 19th century architraves.