Summary
Former townhouse, probably built in the first half of the C18, with the ground floor in use as office accommodation by the end of the C19. In 1939 it was converted to offices for Swaffham Rural District Council, and then to private offices in 1974.
Reasons for Designation
Fitzroy House, 32 Market Place, a former townhouse built in the first half of the C18, with the ground floor in use as office accommodation by the end of the C19, converted to offices for Swaffham Rural District Council in 1939, and then to private offices in 1974, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as a fashionable and high-status C18 townhouse, that demonstrates a good quality design executed in good materials;
* for its distinctive and well-executed symmetrical façade, which is illustrative of the Georgian development of the town.
Historic interest:
* as a building which reflects the architectural tastes of the C18 as Swaffham became a fashionable local centre;
* for the contribution it makes to the evolution of the historic Market Place and the development of the town.
Group value:
* it has historic and functional group value with many other listed buildings ranged around the Market Place.
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- to 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. The 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).
Fitzroy House, originally known as Marcon House, is believed to have been built in the first half of the C18 as a townhouse, probably for John and Mary Marcon who were established in Swaffham around 1750. Little is known of its subsequent history until 1839 when it was occupied by Jane Marcon, widow of John Marcon's grandson, also called John. By 1845, the house was occupied by Dr Caleb Rose, doctor and surgeon for Swaffham District, and by 1891 it was occupied by Leonard Goggs, who established a classical and mathematical school at the premises. However, Mr Goggs’ was declared bankrupt in July 1894. When the house was advertised for sale in the Norfolk News the following September (see Sources) it was described as having three reception rooms, two school rooms, 16 bed and dressing rooms and two large cellars in the basement. Also, at the rear, there was a walled garden with an entrance to Back Lane, along with a stable, coach house and granary, the latter buildings being leased to Messrs Plowright and Sons. When the building was advertised for sale again in 1907, it was being let as solicitor’s offices, wine merchant’s stores and residences. It is believed to have been purchased by Mr Sidney Matthews, a solicitor, who was also town clerk to Swaffham Rural District (1895-1921), as well as being the clerk of the Swaffham Town Estate, and secretary and manager of the Swaffham Water Works Company. On Mr Matthew’s death in 1934, the property was bequeathed to his niece, Mrs E M Chamberlain, who sold it in 1938 to Swaffham Rural District Council as their new home. After being remodelled at a cost of £1,400, it opened in February 1939 and comprised five rooms on the ground floor, including an Air Raid Precautions (ARP) room, three on the first floor, which was the council suite, and five on the top floor. The building continued in use as council offices until 1974 when, following local government reorganisation, the rural district council was abolished and absorbed into Breckland District Council. It was subsequently purchased by AC Williamson and Son, a local building company, who subdivided the building for use as multi-tenant office accommodation.
Details
Former townhouse, probably built in the first half of the C18, with the ground floor in use as office accommodation by the end of the C19. In 1939 it was converted to offices for Swaffham Rural District Council, and then to private offices in 1974.
MATERIALS: of brown brick in header bond with a brick stack and a roof of black-glazed pantiles.
EXTERIOR: the building is of three storeys in five bays with a plat band to the first floor and sill bands to the first and second-floor windows. To the ground floor there is a central six-panelled and fielded door, the upper two panels glazed, enclosed by a timber doorcase with a pulvinated frieze and a triangular pediment on consoles. To the left-hand side of the doorway, there are two six-over-one horned sashes and to its right two one-over-one unhorned sashes. The first and second floors both have six six-over-six horned sashes, except for the central second-floor window, which is a two-over-two horned sash and the unhorned sash at the right-hand end on the same floor. All the windows have gauged skewback arches. At the south end, there is an internal gable-end stack. Extending to the rear is a two- and three-storey cross wing with nine arched recesses to the ground floor, either with doorways or Diocletian windows, with a platband to the first floor and a dentilled eaves cornice above. The first- and second-floor windows were replaced in the late C20. The three-storey section to the east has a hipped roof while the remainder is gabled.
INTERIOR: it retains a C18 open-string staircase with three turned balusters to each tread, fluted newel posts, and ramped moulded handrail. Dado panelling matches. Glazed lantern at roof level.
