Historic Droitwich Its Streets and People

The street frontage here conceals one of Droitwich's most important buildings, and one which is of national importance.  The original construction date of 1456 means this building is significant as one of the earlier surviving timber-frame structures in the town, but it is the form of the building which makes it much more noteworthy.  The analysis undertaken has revealed that this is Worcestershire's first discovered Wealden house, so filling a gap in the plotting of this building type across the Midlands. 

This is a building of three parts:  two end bays of two storeys each, and a central open hall which would have had a hearth in its centre from which the smoke would have risen to the roof timbers and, in theory, exited by a louvre in the roof.  (In practice, the smoke would have stained the upper timbers of the two trusses at each end of the hall.)  The outward appearance of the street frontage would have been distinctive, with its recessed middle bay that had an arched coving at first floor level. 

It is likely that little change occurred to this structure in the following two or three centuries, although the insertion of ceilings in the upper rooms of the two end bays in the late 16th or early/mid 17th century cannot be ruled out.  Similarly, a ceiling/first floor might have been added to the middle bay open hall in those time periods.