The Tudor Merchant's House

The Tudor Merchant's House

A Grade I listed house of rubble stone with slate roof, comprising 2 storeys and an attic. The building presents a narrow gabled front to Quay Hill, with the gable containing an ashlar 2-light window with hoodmould positioned slightly to the right of centre. The window has arched heads to its lights and leaded glazing. A stone square chimney rises through the left gable slope, projecting from the main wall face and supported on stone corbels. Both the chimney and window project from the wall, with a straight joint between them. The left side of the chimney breast has a sloping set-off.

The ground floor front has a small 20th-century 2-light timber window with leaded panes at first floor centre. At ground floor level, a similar leaded window sits to the left, with stone voussoirs overhead. To its right is a door with a cambered headed surround of large stones, comparable to other medieval doorways in Tenby. The doorway comprises a single curved stone forming the head, long stones for each side, and impost stones between. The lower jambs are of rubble stone, suggesting the doorway may have been lengthened. A rough stone relieving arch sits above, and the modern plank door is accessed via 3 slate steps.

The left side return wall is corbelled above a small first floor leaded window. The rear wall features a very large chimney breast with a square chimney. A door sits to the right of the ground floor, and above at first floor is a restored 3-light mullioned window with arched-headed lights. The north-west side incorporates a latrine-turret with sloping roof and a restored 3-light mullion window at first floor.

The ground floor front room contains a massive beam on corbels and a smaller beam on the front wall, also corbelled, with rough square joists. A blocked chamfered window on the rear wall (internally) retains some 18th-century wall-painting featuring simple plant scrolls with stars in black, yellow and red. Similar painting appears on the south wall and a short north stub wall leading to the passage. The south wall has a projecting piece in its left corner. Another ceiling beam spans above a partition to the rear kitchen. The rear contains a further massive beam on corbels and a large kitchen fireplace on the rear wall with stone voussoirs to a cambered arch. Corbels above the fireplace carry joists. Entry to the right leads to the base of the north-west latrine tower, where a latrine chute is fitted with a stone lintel on corbels. A recess appears in the north wall. 20th-century stairs have been inserted on the south wall.

The first floor has a 3-light window on the rear wall. A series of beams on corbels runs across the room: one on the rear wall, followed by one with chamfers, the next chamfered on the west side only, a third without chamfers, and the last on the front wall. A fireplace with a stone lintel on corbels sits on the north wall, with a 3-light mullion window to its left and a latrine chute in the left corner. To the right of the fireplace is a blocked pointed door of unmoulded form, presumably leading to former external stairs. The east front window has a splayed reveal, with a recess to its right. The south wall contains a small window in its extreme left corner, set within a projecting wall piece (matching projections on the ground floor and attic). 20th-century stairs occupy the right side, and above the ground floor stairs sits an oak-framed doorway providing connection to Plantagenet House to the south.

The attic bedchamber features a fine roof of 5 bays with collar trusses. The collars are cambered and chamfered below. Curved scarfed braces descend to corbels on the south wall only, not the north. Small windows open to the north and south, whilst the main window faces east on the front, with a fireplace to its right set in a projecting chimneybreast. The chimneybreast has monolith jambs and lintel, with a curve to its north wall face corresponding to the room below. Two large corbels sit on the south wall beneath the eaves. The west end has been divided off as a staff room.