1-7 St Mary's Court

St Mary's Court is a former coaching inn dating from the early 17th century, extended and altered in the late 18th century, mid-19th century, and late 19th century, and converted into seven houses in the late 20th century.

The building is constructed of rendered and painted stone rubble and red brick, variously painted or exposed, with dressings of brick and limestone, beneath pantiled roofs. There are brick stacks to the gable ends and a further stack down the slope of the roof. Most windows are late 19th and late 20th century timber sashes, with some modern casements. A 17th century stone mullioned window survives at the north end of the roadside range, and rooflights light the north range. All doors are late 20th century replacements.

The building has an accretional L-shaped plan. It comprises the early 17th century part of the building, adjoining 18th century additions to the south-west fronting onto Fore Street, and a late 19th century range of several phases of construction to the rear, running parallel with Watery Lane.

The front south-east elevation faces onto Fore Street and is two storeys with a 2:4:1 bay arrangement. The two left-hand bays (1 St Mary's Court) have a semi-circular arched opening which formerly served as a carriageway through to the rear yard and is now a window, along with a sash window and late 20th century hooded doorway at ground floor, and two sash windows at first-floor level. The central four bays have a canted bay window and hooded doorway at ground floor, with four regularly-spaced sash windows above. The right-hand corner bay features a front-facing gable with a ground-floor canted bay window and a further window. At first floor is a stone mullioned window of three lights with a hoodmould; its cill is late 20th century. The right return, with two bays (part of 3), is built of rendered stone and red brick with only a ground-floor doorway opening, now infilled.

The attached north range is two storeys. Its left-hand two-bay section (part of 3) has horned sash windows on each floor. The taller section beyond (4-7 St Mary's Court) has four bays and a brick eaves cornice. The north elevation has four evenly-spaced windows on each floor; first-floor openings have been reduced in height, and three ground-floor windows are late 20th century insertions. The west gable end has a blocked first-floor doorway.

The courtyard south elevation of the north range has two segmental-arched former openings at ground-floor level to the two left-hand bays, now altered to contain entrance doors to numbers 6 and 7 with small flanking windows. An external staircase previously provided access to a first-floor doorway; it was removed during the 1987 conversion, the doorway was blocked, and new ground-floor entrances to 4 and 5 were created, with a new first-floor window also added. The rear north-west elevation of the front range has 19th century additions. The first floor to the left-hand two bays projects over a recessed open porch. To the right is a one-and-a-half storey addition also forming a recessed porch, and a late 20th century gabled extension containing two garages. Above this is a single sash window.