1, Queen Street, Norwich

Summary

A C17 building, with possible C16 origins, extended and heightened in the C19. Beneath the C17 street-side range is a C15 undercroft, and C18-C19 cellars.

Reasons for Designation

No.1 Queen Street, a former late C17 town house, in the early C21 in use as a public house, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Historical interest: a late C17 and C18 town house with earlier origins, suggested by the survival of significant structural elements of a C15 undercroft. As a whole the building illustrates the success of a wealthy mercantile class in the City of Norwich over several centuries;

* Architectural interest: of special architectural interest for its handsome and detailed north elevation, and for the survival of C15 architectural detail in the undercroft/cellars, including a rib-vaulted shallow recess;

* Rarity: medieval undercrofts are generally rare survivors, and although this is not the case in the City of Norwich, they are rarely found as a group or collection, as they are here;

* Group value: the undercroft has group value with other listed medieval undercrofts in Norwich.

History

By the time of the Norman Conquest Norwich had become the fourth largest borough in England, formed from the merging of five smaller late Anglo Saxon settlements. The town provided a thriving market for a rich agricultural hinterland, and was also well placed for trading links with Scandinavia. The presence of a successful mercantile community in Norwich from the early medieval period, requiring storage for goods, may explain in part the considerable number of undercrofts within the medieval city walls, but the high number makes this a unique collection, with 69 at least known to survive, and a further 33 recorded but demolished. Barrel and rib vaulting are the two main types of construction seen, with variations within each type, and areas vary from 10.7 square metres to 97 square metres, the latter an inserted late C15 undercroft at the Music House in King Street. The Music House is listed at Grade I, and is unusual in being earlier than its undercroft; in most cases, as with the undercrofts to Nos.1, 3 and 5 Queen Street, the original buildings (which may have been timber framed) have been replaced, perhaps several times. Of this group No.5 is a late-C19 commercial building above a largely contemporary cellar, and No.3 is a late-C20 structure, beneath which is a C15 undercroft.

No.1 Queen Street is the earliest, a late-C17 or early-C18 building, probably originally a high status town house, heightened and extended to the rear in the C19; the jetty to the north elevation possibly suggests C16 origins. Beneath the main north range is a C15 undercroft, with C18 and C19 cellars. The building is identified as a public house on the Historic Ordnance Survey (OS) map of 1907, but not on that of 1886.

Details

Public House with undercroft; C15, late C17, C18 and C19.

MATERIALS: brick, rendered to north elevation; pantiled roof; undercroft and cellars of stone and brick.

EXTERIOR: the building is of three storeys, the first floor jettied. The main range is rectangular in plan, and there are later extensions to the south. The ground floor has two entrances and six windows, three to either side of the main entrance. This contains a door with six fielded panels beneath a semi-circular fanlight. The entrance is set within an arched panelled doorcase which is flanked by Doric columns. There is a second, slightly wider entrance to the west end of the ground floor, also with a door with six fielded panels. The ground-floor windows are single-paned sashes set above a plinth of rusticated ashlar blocks. The first-floor jetty is supported on ornate consoles. The first floor has six windows with two-paned sashes set within moulded timber surrounds, while the second floor has seven irregularly spaced casements with moulded, timber surrounds set on little brackets. There is a dentilled cornice below the eaves and the roofline is set back slightly from the façade. The roof of the main range is pitched.

INTERIOR: the interior has been substantially remodelled to create a bar and night club. The second floor has a wide chimney breast, with a safe inserted. This room is partly open to a principal rafter roof with ridge piece, as well as a single tie beam.

Access to the undercroft and cellars is from the ground floor, down an C18 stair. The C15 undercroft is rectangular in plan, and has a flat roof with vaulted recesses to south and west; that to the south is pointed, and deeper than that the east, which has a moulded opening and diagonal ribs to the vault. These appear to be constructed of stone, concealed under layers of paintwork. Since the survey was undertaken in 2006, fixed raised seating has been inserted within each recess. The rib-vaulted shallow recess forms the east end of the undercroft. To the north are two, C18 or C19 brick, barrel-vaulted chambers, said to extend beneath the pavement. To the west is a long narrow space, extending further to the west to a modern partition and door. To the south of this space is an arched opening, constructed of brick, the top of which is partly concealed by a lowered ceiling. The arch opens into a room to the south created by modern partitions, the ceiling of which contains a chamfered beam with lamb’s tongue stops.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

229445

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Other
Smith, R and Wright, A ; 2006: Norwich Undercrofts. A survey undertaken for Norwich Heart

End of official list entry

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