Court House

This is a detached house, originally a single dwelling later subdivided, dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries, with extensions from the 18th century and subsequent modifications. The house is constructed of ham stone, largely ashlar, with Welsh slate roofs, featuring coped gables on the north crosswing. Stone chimney stacks are prominent. The building has a ‘T’ shape with later additions, presenting a 6-bay west elevation over two storeys. The first bay represents a medieval crosswing which projects forward for three bays and incorporates an angled, two-storey bay window likely dating to the 18th century. This window has small-pane sash windows (12+18+12 panes) on both levels, featuring moulded cills, cornice heads and pilaster strips, with a stepped, hipped stone roof topped by a pair of barley-sugar twist chimneys. The return side of the crosswing has two 3-light hollow-chamfer mullioned windows set in chamfered recesses without labels, with rectangular leaded glass on the first floor. Below, the ground floor of bay 1 has an early sash window with 32 panes and thick glazing bars, complete with a hood. Bay 2 features a similar window without a hood, and a later 12-pane sash window. A blocked doorway, with a beaded surround, sits between them. The gabled projection of bay 2 incorporates a blocked segmental-arched opening with a segmental relieving arch above, and a 3-light hollow-chamfer mullioned window with a wave-mould recess and label, with rectangular leaded glass. A late 20th-century lean-to porch is against the return. The remaining 4 bays constitute an 18th-century wing, marked by a plinth and a moulded eaves course. A moulded cornice base and two octagonal stone chimneys with moulded caps rise from the centre of the ridge. The ground floor has 12-pane sash windows, while the upper floor features tall 24-pane sashes, all with recessed architraves and moulded cills. A plain boarded door in a heavy frame is located to the right of bay 4. A single-storey building (number 46), not of particular architectural interest, extends forward from the south-west corner. Further north, a two-storey, single-bay extension is set back from the road. While the interior has not been inspected, the 18th-century wing reportedly contains original corner fireplaces, moulded plasterwork and an 18th-century staircase in the bay connecting the crosswing and the south wing. The crosswing displays 17th and 18th-century panelling, timber-frame dividing partitions with daub filling on horizontal rods, deep chamfered beams with run-out stops, and two 4-centre-arched doorways. Most roof trusses have been renewed, though one smoke-blackened collar truss has survived. The house is believed to have functioned as a court house from 1540. Although a first-floor room in the south wing suggests a former courtroom with separate access on the south side, court proceedings were apparently held in the Crown Inn in the Square by the 18th century.