Summary
Former town house, built in the late C18, partly converted into two houses with shops by the early C19.
Reasons for Designation
46 and 48 Market Place, Swaffham, a late-C18 former town house, converted into two houses with shops by the early C19, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as a former late-C18 town house which, with its distinctive and well-executed symmetrical façade and later conversion to commercial use, contributes to the character of an architecturally varied historic streetscape.
Historic interest:
* 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-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).
46 and 48 Market Place, now two shops with living accommodation above, probably started life as a single town house in the late C18. It is believed that the building had been subdivided into two separate properties by the early C19, when number 46 was occupied by James Trundle (1793-1874), an auctioneer, saddler and harness maker. On his retirement, he was succeeded by his son, Francis, who had been trained by his father. Sadly, Francis died aged 33 in 1865, and the business was subsequently disposed of three years later by his wife, Susanna, to James Alpe, a former apprentice to James Trundle. In the 1850s, number 48, was tenanted to James Wenham, a watchmaker, jeweller and silversmith, who was declared bankrupt in 1860.
In March 1895, the two properties were advertised for sale in the Lynn News and Advertiser (see Sources). Number 46, which was still occupied by James Alpe, was described as having a shop, five bedrooms, two reception rooms, a kitchen, a back kitchen and a cellar, along with a range of outbuildings at the rear, including a stable, coach house and warehouse. Number 48 was stated as having four bedrooms, a showroom, two sitting rooms, a cellar, and a detached kitchen and stable, all in the occupation of Mrs Ruth Elisabeth Green, milliner and dressmaker.
In around 1904, number 48 became an International Stores, while number 46, became a branch of the National and Provincial Bank by 1928, both resulting in external and internal alterations. In 1951 the bank closed and little is known of its subsequent history until 1981 when it became a fish and chip restaurant. A report in the Lynn News and Advertiser (see Sources) on its opening states that the outlet was created from long-empty premises that were formerly used as a hairdressing salon. Following the closure of the International Stores in 1976, number 46 became a newsagents in the 2000s and then an antiques showroom and café in the 2010s. In 2024, new shopfronts were installed to both shops, with that to number 46 replicating the one installed in the early C20 when it was occupied as an International Stores.
Details
Former town house, built in the late C18, partly converted into two houses with shops by the early C19, with number 46 converted to an International Stores around 1904, and number 48 to a bank by 1928, both with later C20 and early C21 alterations for retail use, including the installation of two new shop fronts in 2024.
MATERIALS: of white Suffolk brick with red brick to the south gable and render to the north gable. The roof to number 46 is of red pantiles and that to number 48 is of black-glazed pantiles.
EXTERIOR: of three storeys in five bays, the early-C21 shop front to number 48 spans the three right-hand bays and replicates the shop front used in the early C20 when it was an International Stores. It is framed by triangular-pedimented pilasters and has a canted and recessed doorway to the off-centre left with a half-glazed door, flanked to the left and right by one- and two-light display windows respectively, all above glazed brick stallrisers, with the window divided by colonnettes with small spandrels supporting a thin transom light that replicates the position of a former ventilation grille in the early-C20 shop front. The shopfront to number 46 spans the two left-hand bays and has a half-glazed door flanked to the right by a plate-glass display window placed above a glazed brick stallriser. On the first and second floors, which are separated by a plat band, there are five one-over-one horned sashes, all with painted surrounds, of which those on the first floor are eared. The gabled roof has an internal gable-end stack to the north. The southern gable has minor tumbling. At the rear there is a three-storey wing.
