82 High Street

  • 82 High Street, date not known
  • 1986. 82 High Street
  • Rear view
  • 1950s. Vale Brook House and 82 High Street in the background
Archive Notes:

Photos taken in 1986 before conservatory added in 1990s.

An ancient house of which the roof structure appears to be Elizabethan, and the chimneys earlier. The chimney stack is constructed from stone mixed with cob which has been gradually moving to the south (back) as the cob dries out more on that side. Evidence of this movement can be seen in the attic. It is remembered as Mr White's butcher's shop and the bricked-up window can still be seen. White had a slaughterhouse on site, but this and the butcher's shop was closed down during the Second World War. A fine open fireplace was uncovered, see below and record 1167 for photo. There is a large stone barn behind the house. A conservatory was added in the 1990s.

Listing details state 'House. C17, possibly earlier. Limestone rubble and squared quoins with timber lintels; old plain-tile roof. L-plan. 2 storeys plus attics. Front has gable of projecting wing to left with 3-light C20 casements at ground and first floors and blocked attic window. To right is C20 lean-to brick infill with present entrance; roof to rear of it is half-hipped. Gable-fronted range has large stone stack at rear with 3 diagonal brick shafts, and has rear outshut. Interior not inspected'.

There is a copyright report on this house from 2021 which can only be inspected in WVA. However, the owner has agreed that the fireplace can be shown, see below. This stone fireplace on the first floor is suggestive of examples found by Linda Hall (L. Hall, Period House Fixtures and Fittings: 1300-1900, p. 71, (2019, Newbury, 2005), fig. 7.5) in 1445 in Hampshire rather than similar ones from the 16th  and 17th centuries (and also  one, without such fine detail, which was found in Ambrose Farm and dated to the 17th-century). There is no suggestion that the house construction dates back to this era but the fireplace may have come from an older house. But why such a grand example was put out-of-public gaze in a first-floor bedroom is curious. The condition of this fireplace is excellent and the detail almost identical to the Linda Hall find.

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