Old Six Bells

The Old Six Bells is a long, five-window, two-storey range with a cellar. It was built sometime in the 17th century and developed over several phases, with later additions in the 18th century. The building is constructed from cream-painted rubble masonry, with a slate roof and masonry end stacks, alongside a rebuilt brick stack situated slightly right of centre. A panelled, ribbed front door, protected by a gabled porch supported on two timber posts and having a timber lintel, sits to the left of the ridge stack, a feature that suggests the original 17th-century house was designed with a chimney-backing-on-the-entry plan. The windows are irregularly spaced, reflecting the house’s evolution. They all have stone sills and contain eight-pane sashes, except for the southern windows, which are wider and feature paired sashes. The windows flanking the front door and the three windows directly above it have stone hoodmoulds, indicative of a middle phase of construction. The windows in the northern section have segmental heads to the upper storey and concrete lintels to the lower. A mounting block, consisting of six stone steps leading to a platform, is located against the south end of the front facade. The gable ends are adjoined by other buildings in the street.

The rear elevation is also five windows in width. The earliest section at the south end projects outwards. It has wide, centrally placed windows on each floor, containing twelve-pane sashes, and a planked door on the left side. The remainder of the rear presents a continuous facade and includes two entrance doors; the door to the northern unit is panelled and half-glazed, set beneath a segmental head. Window openings vary in size and height; most contain eight-pane sashes or contemporary four-pane windows, except for the upper storey of the northern unit, which has a small two-pane sash and a three-light metal-framed window on the right.

The front door opens into a passage running parallel to the front of the house. To the right is the stack and entrance to the southern unit, notable for its chamfered cross beams with cut stops and a flagstone floor. The fireplace in this unit features an overmantel of decorative oak panels including fluted pilasters and circular motifs; to the right are curving stone fireplace stairs. The former bar of the Public House is located in the southwest corner of the room. The central unit, behind the entrance passage, is the kitchen. Further curving stone stairs, aligned with the front entrance, lead down to the cellar. The northern unit features panelled shutters, a panelled ceiling with a decorative rose, and a stone fireplace.