THE GREYHOUND INN

Summary

Early C16 house, in use as a public house since at least 1679, extended to the north around 1740 and to the rear in the first half of the C19. Flat-roofed extension to the rear added in approximately the mid-C20.

Reasons for Designation

The Greyhound Inn, an early C16 house in use as a public house since at least 1679, extended to the north around 1740 and to the rear in the first half of the C19, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* it retains historic internal detailing from the C16, C17 and C18, providing evidence of its evolution and the development of vernacular building techniques;
* its long, low frontage enhances the varied architectural character of the Market Place.

Historic interest:

* it contributes to the coherent commercial townscape that forms one of the most important historic public spaces in Swaffham, one that continues to reflect the historical development of the town.

Group value:

* it has proximity to, and a strong visual relationship with, many other listed buildings on the Market Place, particularly with the adjoining 93 and 95 Market Place to the north, also listed at Grade II.

History

Swaffham’s significance in the medieval period stemmed from its position on the crossroads of the main routes from London, Norwich and King’s Lynn. The first written record of a market in the town, which was established on a triangular-shaped area formed by the convergence of the aforementioned roads, was in 1215 when King John issued a royal writ to the Sherriff of Norfolk to abolish it should it ‘damage the market in Dunham’. It was never abolished and expanded rapidly. The Market Place was probably open to the church on its east side, but later C17 development closed this off, while the development of The Shambles in the middle in the late C18/early C19, further reduced the size of the open space. From the mid-C18, for a period of just over a hundred years, Swaffham became one of the most populous parishes in Norfolk and one of the most fashionable centres in the county, attracting many leading West Norfolk Families. A racecourse had been established by 1628, the Assembly Rooms were constructed in 1776-1778, subsequently extended and modernised in 1817, and George Walpole, the Third Earl of Orford (1730-1791), founded a coursing club in 1786. During this period of prosperity much rebuilding took place around the Market Place and the overall character of the town is primarily of mid-late Georgian in date, although there is evidence for C16-C17 work behind many façades. Further rebuilding also took place after ‘The Great Fire of Swaffham’, which probably started in the vicinity of the Blue Boar Inn (now the White Hart) on the afternoon of 14 November 1775, when it was set ablaze by a spark from a nearby blacksmith’s workshop. Fire soon engulfed the densely packed houses and workshops behind the inn and along London Road, with 22 buildings being completely destroyed and a further two badly damaged. The town continued to expand in the C19 when its population increased from 2,200 in 1800 to 3,350 in 1845. It also became an important local administrative centre during this period and acquired several notable buildings, including a National School (1838), Shire Hall (1839) and Corn Hall (1858).

The Greyhound Inn originated as a house built in the early C16. The earliest known record of it as an inn is from 1679 when it was assessed for a rate for the disbanding of the Army, and it was called ‘Ye Bell’. In 1694 another rate assessment of £16 was levied when the building was owned by Edward Chapman. It was extended to the north around 1740, and the exterior was updated at probably the same time. During the 1770s it was called the Blue Bell, and the first landlord whose name is known was John Rust in 1791. The Greyhound was a popular venue with the sporting fraternity, and hosted the annual dinner of the Westacre Hunt in 1826. It was also a favourite of the carriers' coaches which ran from there, as revealed by a timetable from 1845. The name of the inn was changed to The Greyhound before the beginning of the C19 apparently as a token of gratitude to the Earl of Orford who had built the new Market Cross, and formed the first hare coursing club in England, using the inn as its headquarters when the coursing meetings were held on Swaffham Heath.

The building is shown on Faden’s Map of Swaffham (1797) as roughly L-shaped, consisting of the principal range facing west on to the Market Place, with a long rear wing running along the northern boundary. Depicted at the entrance to the inn yard is a pond, most likely a well which became known as ‘Town Pitt’. This is also depicted on the Tithe Map of 1840, which shows the building with a similar L-shaped plan, described as ‘the Greyhound Inn, barn and stable yard’, owned and occupied by Michael Rust. At some point in the first half of the C19 an additional wing was added to the rear which was partly rebuilt in the mid-C20. The first edition Ordnance Survey (OS) map of 1884 shows the building with an approximately L-shaped plan, consisting of a front range and a long rear wing along the northern boundary. The footprint is the same on the second and third edition OS maps of 1905 and 1928. The OS map of 1970 shows that a single-storey, flat-roofed extension was later added to the rear on the south side.

Details

Early C16 house, in use as a public house since at least 1679, extended to the north around 1740 and to the rear in the first half of the C19. Flat-roofed extension to the rear added in approximately the mid-C20.

MATERIALS: the front range is rendered and colourwashed brick and flint. The parallel rear range is red brick laid in stretcher bond, and the rear wing is flint and red brick. Pantiled roofs.

PLAN: the building has an L-shaped plan consisting of a front range facing west onto the Market Place with a parallel rear range, and a rear wing along the northern boundary. A rear extension on the south side dates to between 1928 and 1970.

EXTERIOR: the front range has two storeys under a pitched roof with a parapet at the southern end, a C19 ridge stack over the right-hand doorway, and an internal gable-end stack to the north. The ground floor is lit by three two-over-two pane horned sash windows. In the bays between the windows are two half-glazed doors with stuccoed brick doorcases carrying plain entablatures. The first floor is lit by four six-over-six pane unhorned sash windows, set directly beneath the eaves.

To the rear, parallel to the front range, is a three-storey C19 range, of three window bays, under a pitched roof. This range was partly rebuilt in the mid-C20. To the north is a two-storey range of around 1740, constructed in red brick laid in Flemish bond. It has a pitched roof and two window bays of C20 casements and sash windows. The single-storey rear wing of flint has a wide two-leaf door inserted in the right-hand side, with modern repairs in red brick to either side.

INTERIOR: this has groin-vaulted C18 brick cellars, the vaults supported by two square brick piers. The C16 part of the building to the north has, on the ground floor, three bays of bridging beams with wave and hollow mouldings, roll-moulded wall plates with fillets, and joists with roll and hollow mouldings. A wide fireplace to the south has some C17 brick.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

460634

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Wilson, B, The Buildings of England: Norfolk 2: North-West and South, (2002)
Swaffham History Group, , The Book of Swaffham: The Story of a Norfolk Market Town, (2021)

Other
Unpublished research – Swaffham Cultural Consortium and Swaffham History Group

End of official list entry

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