160, 160A, 162, 164 High Street (EHER 38368)

Nos 160, 160A, 162 and 164 High Street are a pair of originally identical Wealden type houses from around 1400, probably built as a speculative venture. They are now used as a shop, a restaurant and flats. Originally, each house consisted of a substantial single bay hall, a shop, parlour and solar. There are 17th and 19th century alterations and 20th century extensions.

September 1971. Grade II* listed. Nos 160, 160A, 162 and 164 High Street are a pair of originally identical Wealden type houses from around 1400, probably built as a speculative venture. They are now used as shops and flats. The building is rendered with gabled plain tile roofs. Each house has a two-storeyed 'cross-wing' with a former shop in the front bay of the ground floor. The first floor front elevation has fragments of arch-headed window, now beneath the render. There is a single-bay hall of unusual length with remnants of a hall window in No.162. This unit has a 17th century inserted floor in the hall and an inglenook chimney stack of the same date. They have simple crown-post roofs with thick longitudinal bracing. No.160 has a ground floor of painted brick. The first floor of has two sash windows with moulded surrounds and central vertical glazing bars. The rear has a tarred red-brick 19th century two-storeyed extension with gabled pantile roof and further, single-storey extension in Gault brick with gabled pantiled roof. There is also a large 20th century flat-roofed extension covering most of the back elevation. No.164 has a central diagonal rebuilt chimney stack and two hipped dormer windows with 20th century two-light windows with central horizontal glazing bars. The first floor of No.162 has two 20th century top-hung casement windows, each with a central vertical glazing bar. No.162 is jettied with exposed brackets and joists and its ground floor has two 20th century small-pane shop windows with bulls-eye glass and a 20th century six-panelled door with the two upper panels glazed. The ground floor of No.162 has a 20th century shop front of two large single panes, painted full-width timber fascia, recessed 20th century glazed door and door to No.162. The rear of No.162 has a 20th century two-storeyed rendered extension with gabled plain tile roof and 20th century two-light casement. Lean-to of plain tiles against rear walls. <1> See photos <2> and <3>. The shop and adjacent restaurant are a probably a pair of early 15th century Wealden Houses. Each consisted of a substantial single bay hall, a shop, parlour and solar. The shop fronts formerly showed evidence of the half arch technique and the windows above showed evidence of traceried heads. The cross passages were overshot. The units were later altered to the long wall, jetty arrangement. <4> No.162-164 High Street has been a restaurant since 2007. <5> No.164 abuts No.166A High Street (EHER 38369) to the south.