44, Market Place

No. 44 Market Place is a house that has been converted into a shop. It dates from the late 17th century, possibly with earlier origins. The front of the building has been altered, likely involving the cutting back of the jetty, during the late 19th century, and it features shop fittings from the early 20th century. The front is made of painted brick with a timber eaves course, while the rear is timber-framed with orange-red brick infill. The building has coped gables with shaped kneelers and brick end stacks, topped by a pantile roof.

The structure is two stories high with a three-window front, which was probably originally jettied. At the left end, there is a four-panel door set in a pilastered opening that leads to a rear access passage. To the right, there is a double shop front with recessed glazed doors in the center, flanked by canted plate-glass windows with moulded glazing bars, all resting on tiled risers. A glazed showcase is located between the doors. The ground floor features a continuous fascia and moulded cornice above all openings, along with roller blind boxes with fittings by Irving & Co of Manchester. The shop doorways are secured with latticed ironwork grilles, and panelled window shutters and bars are still present. The first-floor windows are 4-pane sashes, and there is a moulded eaves course beneath the overhanging eaves supported by massive shaped brackets.

At the rear, a small area of timber-framing is visible at the right end above later extensions. Inside, there is a heavy chamfered spine beam in the front part of the shop, and various 19th and early 20th-century display cabinets and fittings remain throughout the ground floor.