House - medieval

The National Monuments Service's description

A building, at least three-storeys high, of limestone rubble, roughly coursed. Only a portion of the SW wall (L 4.2m visible) survives incorporated into, but projecting from, the NE gable end of Bank Place which also forms the SW yard wall of 1 Canopy St. The building extended NE from the SW wall, the NE side of the surviving walling being an internal face. A modern one-storey extension has been built onto the rear of 1 Canopy St. and is built against the SE end of the SW wall of the earlier building. Features at ground-floor level include towards the SE end a wall-cupboard (max. Wth 0.67; D 0.4m) incorporated into the modern kitchen extension. Further NW there is a blocked opening, probably a window embrasure (Wth 1.33m; H 1.6m), as there appears to be a slight internal splay and it is above floor level. It has cut limestone surrounds. The depressed arched voussoirs for this embrasure are recessed in the wall, as is the wall itself above the embrasure feature. The recess (D 0.17-0.19m) may have been an offset to carry a wooden floor but it would seem more likely, and there is a slight indication, that a vault may have sprung from the wall at the level of the top of the embrasure. At first-floor level, towards the SE end, there is a crudely blocked opening (Wth c. 0.6m; H c. 1.2m) which would appear to be a doorway. It has cut limestone surrounds, some of which are broken. The third floor was carried on a wooden floor, two of the corbels support for which are projecting from the SW wall. Both are limestone corbels with margin tooling and punch-dressing. The most south-easterly is in better condition though the lower edge is broken away, the corbel to the NW is quite broken. Approximately 2m above the corbels there is a slight offset which appears to have a band of thin coping stones, this may be the surviving height of the original wall. The wall continues above this for another 0.8-1m but this is probably later in date, contemporary with number 9 Bank Place.

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of upload: 26 August 2011