56, High Street

WELLS

ST5445 HIGH STREET 662-1/7/126 (North side) 13/09/72 No.56

GV II

House with shop. Probably C16, C17, and C18 facade. Timber-frame, rendered and colourwashed, clay pantiled gabled roof, ridge at right angles to road. A narrow frontage 2-room plan with low ceilings, with later store to the rear. EXTERIOR: 3 storeys, 2 bays. Simple ground floor shop front with central doorway under jetty, the slim fascia masking the joist-ends. First floor has two 12-pane sash windows, and second floor one set centrally, with timber architraves to sash boxes, highly ornamental bargeboards probably of C19. INTERIOR: shop rather altered, but original stair with winders in a centrally located position. At rear is lofty store, a former bakehouse, with kingpost trusses, and a straight stair returning to the early range. The first floor has C19 partitioning, wide elm floorboards, and C17 chamfered crossbeams with run-out stops; the front room has a thin C17 or C18 door on early L-hinges. The upper stair, to the right rear, is C19, with stick balustrade and turned newels, and the second floor has C19 partitions. The front wall has timber-framework partly exposed, and, remains of substantial timber-framing, including one heavy tie-beam, partly exposed in both party walls. The rear room has a 3-light casement with leading and early glass. The 3-bay roof frame has cambered collar trusses, some curved and chamfered windbraces and chamfered butt purlins; the rear truss is set slightly forward from the stack. Many of the rafters are early. An unprepossessing frontage to one of the more interesting historical survivals in this street; the upper storeys unused at the time of survey.

Listing NGR: ST5481445673