32, HIGH STREET

Details

BROMYARD

815/1/191 HIGH STREET 12-APR-73 BROMYARD 32 (Formerly listed as: HIGH STREET BROMYARD 11)

GV II No. 32 High Street is an C18 townhouse with extensive C19 remodelling.

MATERIALS: Brick, laid in Flemish bond, with stucco to the ground floor. It has some stone. There is a central brick chimneystack.

PLAN: The front range runs parallel to the High Street, with a perpendicular, long, rear range. A single-storey extension runs along the north-west side of the rear range.

ELEVATION: The principal elevation is of three storeys with a piano nobile and parapeted roof. It has two bays and is arranged symmetrically on the first and second floors. On the first floor are two tall casements with narrow, marginal glazing bars, the second floor has two, squat four-over-four sashes; all have exposed, painted-stone wedge lintels and are in plain reveals. Above the attic windows is a stone cornice. The ground floor has a tripartite sash-window to either side of the door, which is off-set to the right. The right-hand side window is narrower than the left. The front door has fielded panels with arched heads, a decoration which is repeated in the soffit of the recess, and there is a plain semi-circular fanlight above. There are plain pilasters to either side of the door-recess, terminating in moulded corbels supporting a moulded hood. Three stone steps splay down from the doorway. The rear range is also brick, and has an ornate door surround with Tuscan pillars and open pediment.

INTERIOR: The interior was not inspected for the purposes of this assessment, but this description has been informed by the Insight Historic Buildings Research report (2009).

The front range contains ornate plaster work: the main corridor has a cornice with acanthus leaf and flower motifs; there is a deeply recessed doorway which has a moulded plaster arch on moulded imposts; and there are two further moulded archways, one resting on corbels, the other again displaying the acanthus and flower motifs. This corridor leads through to a steep dog-leg staircase to the rear of the main range; it has a moulded wooded banister with splat-like balustrading, the tread-ends have cut-out designs which are most elaborate at ground-floor level. The ceiling mirrors the curve of the stair and has a moulded plaster border with a flower motif. The principal ground-floor room has a decorative fireplace with fluted pilasters, a deep, moulded mantle, and a cast-iron grate with tiled surround. There are high skirting boards and a moulded cornice. The principal first-floor room has similar features, and panelled window reveals. The rear range has some eclectic features, such as a mixed, tiled floor, and a wide veranda. There is a two-roomed cellar beneath the main range which is reached by stone steps. It has chamfered beams with finely-cut scroll stops.

HISTORY: Bromyard is a small market town that was first recorded in circa 840. No. 32 High Street is situated on one of the principal thoroughfares in the town which was known as Novus Vicus in the late C13 and recorded as Newe Streate in 1575. The street appears to have been fully built-up by the early C17, though some of the plots have been re-developed since that time.

SOURCES: Dalwood H and Bryant V, An Archaeological Assessment of Bromyard - The Central Marches Historic Towns Survey 1992-6 (2005) - http://ads.ahds.ac. uk/catalogue/projArch/EUS/marches_eus_2005/downloads.cfm?county=herefordshire&area=bromyard&CFID=1543698&CFTOKEN=53188440 - Accessed on 18 August 2010 James D, Insight Historic Buildings Research, An Analysis of the Historic Fabric of Fifty Buildings in the Central Area of Bromyard, Herefordshire (2009)

Reasons for Designation No. 32 High Street (formerly No. 11), an C18 house with extensive C19 remodelling, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Architectural interest: an interesting C19 façade with pleasant detailing * Interior: elaborate moulded interior features, and an ornate staircase * Historic Interest: a pre-1840 house, with later remodelling * Group Value: with many other listed buildings elsewhere in the High Street

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

151022

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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