King Charles House

Details

WORCESTER

SO8554NW NEW STREET
620-1/17/458 (East side)
22/05/54 No.29
King Charles House
Formerly Listed as:
CORNMARKET
No.5
King Charles House)

GV II*

Part of merchant's house, built probably as outbuildings to 5
Cornmarket (qv). Dated 1577; front bay rebuilt c1670 as annexe to
Nos 4 and 5 Cornmarket (qv); jettied upper storey added to both
buildings at the same time; rear bays built separately in late
C17; later restorations including the upper storey by FWB Charles
in 1986. For William Blagden and Richard Durant. Timber-frame
with rendered infill except bottom row of panels which are
painted brick; renewed plain clay tile roof. Long and narrow in
plan with longitudinal axis at right-angles to street.
EXTERIOR: 3-storeys and cellar. 2 first-floor windows. 2 unequal
bays of framing with remnant of further bay to the left (see
historical note). Top-floor jettied. Most of ground-floor framing
removed, probably C18, for insertion of 6/6 and 12/12 windows,
latter has divided lower sash. Mid-rail to first-floor with
close-studding below and large panels above. Moulded bressumer
(cyma recta over cyma reversa) to jettied second-floor. Main
posts on ground- and first-floor incorporate slender pilasters
(cf 25 New Street (qv)), those to right of elevation have console
brackets. Renewed 2-light and 3-light side-hung casements to
first-floor with square-pane leaded glazing. Second-floor has
renewed attic gables with paired side-hung casements. Entrance
off-centre right has renewed part-glazed door; 2 close-studded
panels to right with plaque ref. King Charles over.
INTERIOR: ground floor has extensive small square-framed wall
panelling, some from the C16 or C17, some of the C19, much of it
not believed to be in its original position; reputed to be from
Kidderminster and Suffolk; fluted timber frieze. Elaborately
carved chimney piece depicting various scenes; one shows figure
dining and devil, dated 1635; removed from Sidbury House,
Worcester, demolished in 1960's. Principal beams to ceiling have
roll mouldings. First-floor has exposed square-panel framing.
Replica staircase has slender turned
balusters. Conventional cellar and oubliette which has
bottle-shaped cross-section.
HISTORICAL NOTE: The King Charles House in Cornmarket (qv)
originally continued around the corner to link with 29 New Street
(qv). In the late C18 much of the upper framing was removed and
the corner replaced by a new house and shop, 4 Cornmarket/30 New
Street (qqv). K.C. House said to have been used by King Charles
as his headquarters during the Civil War. A fire in 1986
destroyed the mainly softwood roof of No.29; this was seen as an
opportunity for a conjectural reinstatement of the second-floor
and roof from surviving evidence which included the jetty beam.
The original dwelling also included 4 and 5 Cornmarket and No.30
New Street (qqv). An inscription board attached to No.5
Cornmarket includes he date 1577 as well as the initials WB and
RD (for William Blagden and Richard Durant) who in 1577 are
recorded as leasing the small triangle of land in Cornmarket from
the City in order to square-up their plot of land. An engraving
of 1799 by James Ross indicates that this was originally a
3-storey building, the upper stage jettied and with 4 gables. The
original plan is thought to have been L-shaped following the
angle of the 2 roads with, from Cornmarket, a kitchen. parlour,
and entry passage, then shop with cellar under to corner, and
hall and parlour. A fire c1800 partially destroyed the timber
frame building and caused a rebuilding to No.30 New Street with
No.5 Cornmarket. Gables removed c1852-60. The house is
traditionally associated with the escape of Charles I after the
Battle of Worcester (1651). The chimney piece (dated 1635) comes
from Sidbury House, demolished in the 1960's.
Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Nos. 25-30 (consecutive) form a group with the listed buildings
in the Cornmarket (qv).
(Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Worcestershire: Harmondsworth:
1968-1985: 329; Molyneux N, Hughes P, Price S: V A G Spring
Conference Worcestershire 1995: 2.10; Hughes P: Bldgs and the
Bldg Trade in Worcester 1540-1650 (PhD Thesis): 1990-: 185 &
434).

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

488971

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Worcestershire, (1968), 329

End of official list entry

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