Church House & The Friars

Church House & The Friars

This L-shaped building comprises two sections of different dates and characters. No. 2, probably the older part and likely the original service wing, faces east with three bays arranged in a seemingly random pattern suggestive of medieval origins. No. 1, which was later extended, adjoins it to the north. Both are single-depth structures with steeply pitched roofs. No. 1 rises to two storeys and a garret; No. 2 is also two storeys and a garret but includes an undercroft beneath.

The construction materials vary across the building. No. 2's ground floor is neatly squared and coursed grey lias stone, with random red sandstone rubble in the upper parts. No. 1 is mostly very roughly squared and coursed grey lias, with red sandstone rubble in small sections. The south gable end of No. 2 has been rendered. Sandstone ashlar provides the dressings throughout, though many have been replaced with concrete. The roofs are concrete tile.

No. 2's east-facing main front shows considerable alteration history. From left to right are a modern window opening retaining an old 2-light window head with dripmould as an overlight; a 2-light casement window with 6 + 6 panes and 4-centred heads with dripmould; a modern doorway with a late 20th-century door and a small arched single-light overlight; a 2-light window with a relieving arch; and a 2-light window with plain rectangular lights serving the undercroft. The relieving arch above the leftmost opening sits in newer stonework above older stones, indicating refurbishment around 1600. The upper floor has a central 3-light window flanked by 2-light examples. The south gable wall contains a central 2-light window at ground level. The north gable wall has an undercroft doorway and a tiny single-light window at ground level. No garret windows are visible on either gable. Most window heads on No. 2 have been renewed. The rear elevation includes a single-light window possibly once a doorway, with a 2-light window below and another above.

No. 1's rear elevation shows a tall ground floor containing a 2-light window with dripmould, a plank door with a 4-centred head and dripmould, and two further 2-light windows. A string course separates the floors. Above are three 2-light windows arranged vertically above the lower ones, their heads largely replaced—some in concrete—with hollow chamfered mullions. The rear elevation of No. 1 has a single-light window possibly once a doorway, a 2-light window flanked by single lights all under the same dripmould, and a modern 3-light timber window in an altered frame. The upper floor has a single-light window, a 2-light with shaped heads, a rectangular 2-light with timber frame, and a 2-light in the standard form. All these windows show some degree of alteration. The gable end displays a 2-light window on each floor to the left of the stack and blocked arched single-light garret windows either side of the stack. The gable is coped with a rebuilt stack.

Interior details visible at resurvey were limited. The ground floor of No. 1 has been much altered but retains a large fireplace with chamfered stone jambs and an oak lintel. Both sections have modern staircases. No. 2 has stabling in the undercroft, which is not vaulted.