5, High Street

WELLS

ST5445 HIGH STREET 662-1/7/81 (South side) 12/11/53 No.5

GV II

Row house, shop under, and former printing works to rear. Late C16 remnants, mostly C17, with C18 and C19 alterations. Brickwork front, probably on timber-framing, rubble, pantile roofs, brick stacks. PLAN: the front range, with side entry from through passage to its right, is double depth, with a generous staircase centred in the rear half, and twin hipped roofs behind a parapet; the front part of this block probably rebuilt in the late C18 or early C19, has high ceilings. Beyond is a very long rubble and pantile gabled wing with narrow courtyard to the right (W), and with low ceilings; it retains an early C17 casement window, and a C17 staircase. EXTERIOR: 3 storeys, single wide bay. Simple late C19 shop front across ground floor, with central 3-light window, glazed shop door to left and 6-panel house door to right, both with rectangular transom lights, and fascia with cornice, but shopboard with segmental arched centre portion set on top of cornice. Above a very shallow canted bay window carried to full height of coping, with plain sashed windows to each facet on both floors. The rear door to the through passage has Gothic interlace glazing. The wing is also in 3 storeys, with three vertical 6-pane 'industrial' timber lights with horizontal boarded aprons at eaves level, above 2:3:2-light casements to the first floor. At ground floor level, left, is a large 6-light stone hollow-mould mullioned and transomd casement with 2 king mullions, leading, and early glass, plus some sashes. The gable end to this range has a loading door above a boarded apron. Attached to this is a further low wing with large central glazed lantern with 15:12:12:15-pane fixed casements, and two 4-vertical-pane lights to its end gable. INTERIOR: the side passage has a series of early beams in the rear half. In the rear half of the front range is an early C19 staircase with stick balustrade and turned newels, with quarter landing and return to an open full landing. The first floor rear room has a C17 door. At second floor the front room has a series of cupboards with flush 4-panel doors The rear wing has, towards the rear, a painted C17 dog-leg staircase with splat balusters, and square newels with ball finials. At first floor, immediately adjoining the front range, is a room with 6 lateral chamfered beams, and in the rear wall a 4-centred doorway and a plank door, and two 12-pane sashes to the yard. The central room has an C18 fireplace surround with dentils, backing on a C20 fireplace in the front room. The second floor has low-pitched ceilings, and in a bathroom is a 3-light wood casement with ovolo-mould mullions and leading. The roof not accessible, but believed to be a C19 rebuild. An interesting example of early development on the long urban plot, the whole building incorporating remnants from various periods, but not altered significantly since the early C20.

Listing NGR: ST5499045720