Summary
A pair of early C18 houses, altered around 1760 and again in the late C20.
Reasons for Designation
5 and 7 London Street, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* for the symmetrical and well-considered red brick frontage and historic external detailing which enhances the varied architectural character of the town;
* for the architectural quality of its classical façade, which is enlivened by a moulded eaves cornice, red brick quoins and tumbled brick eaves to the north gable.
Historic interest:
* for the contribution it makes to the evolution of London Street and the development of the town.
Group value:
* for its strong historic group value with many other listed buildings of a similar date and domestic function on London Street, particularly with the neighbouring 9 London to the south, which is 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- 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. 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).
5 and 7 London Street were built as a pair of early C18 houses. Originally, they were single-storey with a dormer attic, before being re-fronted and raised to two storeys around 1760. A full-length outshut was added to the rear around 1780. The pair of houses are depicted on the 1797 Faden map of Swaffham. The 1840 Tithe map shows a pair of rectangular buildings with their long axis running back from London Street, the same configuration is shown on the 1883 first edition Ordnance Survey map. They were altered in the late C20 and converted to restaurants. 5 London Street has historically been known as Romford House.
Details
A pair of early C18 houses, altered around 1760 and again in the late C20.
MATERIALS: the building is constructed of red brick laid in a variation of Flemish bond with pantile roofs.
PLAN: the building faces west onto London Street, and is roughly rectangular in plan with rear eastern extensions.
EXTERIOR: it is a two-storey building with a dormer attic. The roof is gabled with four flat-topped C20 dormers fitted with two-light casements. There are internal gable-end chimney stacks to the north and south. The north gable shows the roofline of the early C18 house, with brick tumbling. The houses have a symmetrical principal elevation with quoins and a moulded eaves cornice and are seven window bays wide. The windows are six-over-six pane sashes under segmental gauged skewback arches. The central windows on each floor are blind. Each house is entered through a doorway in the penultimate bays to the right and left. Both entrances have timber doorcases with hoods on console brackets. 5 London Street has a double-leaf six-panelled door. 7 London Street has a four-panelled C20 door. Both buildings were converted into two restaurants in the late C20.
INTERIOR: 5 London Street has chamfered bridging beams and the ground-floor front rooms have been opened into one space. 7 London Street retains an early C19 brick fireplace.
