Hen and Chickens PH including attached No. 10 facing St John's Street

The Hen and Chickens public house, along with the attached property at number 10 facing St John's Street, is a building of three distinct sections, presenting a complex architectural history. The exterior elevations are rendered and painted, though the west end is red brick, and all are covered by natural slate roofs with brick stacks.

The section facing Flannel Street on the right is of 18th-century appearance, although it is a single-depth plan. It is two storeys high with three windows above a late 19th-century shopfront of recessed central entrance and 2-light display windows with timber mullions on either side; a coved fascia is topped by pedimented stops at each end. The windows above are 3 over 3 pane sash windows, with a modern casement window in between. A steeply pitched roof has a rebuilt red brick stack to the right gable.

The central section, also of 18th-century appearance and a double-depth plan, is two storeys high with attic space, and features three windows. It has a good late 19th-century public house front with classically-derived end pilasters supporting a cornice and fascia board. A 5-light window sits above panelled stallrisers, and a door is positioned to the left, complete with an overlight. The first-floor windows have late 20th-century casement glazing. A moderately pitched roof incorporates two catslide dormers with modern casement glazing. A large stack previously present on the left gable has been removed.

The left-hand section is also of double-depth plan and two storeys high with two windows. The ground floor has a tripartite sash window with 2 over 2 panes flanked by 1 over 1, alongside a doorway to the right. Sash windows with 2 over 2 panes occupy the first floor. A low-pitched roof is without a stack. Partly rebuilt brick walling is visible to the left return.

The section of the building fronting St John's Street, which is directly in front of the right-hand section on Flannel Street, is a separate property with 19th-century shopfronts. The central section has a first-floor splayed oriel with 2 over 2 pane sashes flanked by 1 over 1. Below the oriel is a horned tripartite sash, accompanied by a plain doorway to the right. A low-pitched roof features a late 20th-century element of unknown purpose, possibly ventilation. The right-hand section is a lower building of three storeys, with a single 2-light window at the top, a blocked window on the first floor, and a doorway with an attached broad 3-light window on the ground floor. To the right of this, a two-storey building at the west corner has seen significant alteration and rebuilding.

The right-hand section demonstrates evidence of an original jettied construction. It is of single depth plan with a blind stone rear wall backing onto the house in St John's Street. The current street front has been projected beyond the original jetty, requiring the first floor to be supported by a rolled steel joist (RSJ). Four massive boxed-in cross-beams carry the first floor, and a jetty post survives in the right corner. A Victorian fireplace and tiled floor are present on the ground floor. Upper floors have not been inspected, but are reported to retain 19th-century fireplaces and other features. The left-hand section has been more altered, making its original features difficult to discern.