38, Flowergate

This is a late 17th and early 18th century court building, subsequently remodelled in the late 19th century and now used as offices. It is constructed of rendered stone, with some exposed stone on the rear wing, and has pantile roofs. The building comprises a two-storey front block with an attic, and a single-storey rear wing also with an attic.

The street facade features a segment-arched doorway on the right, with double-panelled doors and a plain overlight. To the left of the doorway are three plain sash windows within moulded stucco surrounds, sharing a continuous cill. The first floor has three irregularly spaced glazing bar sashes in moulded surrounds linked by a cill band. Above, there is a moulded cornice with a projecting central tripartite window. The outer gable is plain with triangular panels, and a projecting upper curved gable features a central triangular panel. The tripartite windows are round-headed with glazing bar upper lights. The rear facade is rendered with single, irregularly placed sash windows.

The east front of the rear wing has a plank doorway to the left, alongside two plain sashes to the right. Above is a single through-eaves dormer with a plain sash. The west front retains two 17th century blocked mullion and transom windows, alongside several irregularly spaced sashes.

The interior includes three-panelled rooms on the ground floor. The front room has complete full-height raised and fielded panelling, divided by thin pilasters, alongside a pilastered chimney piece, over-mantle, and a round-headed full-height cupboard with double doors and moulded coving. The middle room has simpler full-height panelling and six-panel doors. The rear room, within the earlier wing, retains virtually complete full-height raised and fielded panelling with pilasters flanking a later chimney piece; to the right is a round-headed cupboard with a pilastered surround, double doors, and original shaped shelves, also with moulded coving.

The original early 18th century staircase has a single flight and return. The lower flights feature turned balusters with knops, a ramped handrail, and fielded dado panelling to the side walls. The staircase hall is largely panelled on the upper floors, and the upper flights have raised and fielded panels to the dado and balustrade, with square panelled newel posts.

The first floor front office has moulded window surrounds with panelled shutters, moulded coving, four-panelled doors in moulded surrounds, and a fine 18th century chimney piece. The rear office has timber panelled stud-partition walls. This former court building retains a fine set of 18th century panelled rooms.