The Bell Public House (EHER 38563)

A pair of 15th century timber framed houses, now combined into a public house. It is on a complex plan comprising five elements of various dates: (1) a 15th century house of high quality, probably a priest's house; (2) to the south of it, a two-bay parlour/solar crosswing of a 15th century hall house; (3) to the east of this, a three-bay range comprising the two-bay hall and the originally storeyed service bay; (4) along the north side of this range, an 18th century lean-to extension; and (5) to the north of (1) an 18th century brick stable block. The building was altered in around 1600, and again in the 18th and 20th centuries. It is plastered, roughcast rendered, and partly in red brick. The roof is covered with handmade and machine-made red clay tiles. Deeds in the possession of the owners include the grant of a licence for use as a beerhouse in 1670. A watching brief in 2018-2019 recorded evidence for an annexe attached to the northern part of the pub which is detailed on 19th century OS mapping and was demolished in the mid 20th century.

December 1982. Grade II listed. A pair of 15th century timber framed houses, now combined into a public house. The building was altered in around 1600, and again in the 18th and 20th centuries. It is plastered, roughcast rendered, and partly in red brick. The roof is covered with handmade and machine-made red clay tiles and slate, and is half-hipped. It is on a complex plan comprising five elements of various dates: (1) a 15th century small house of high quality, probably a priest's house, of two bays aligned approximately north-south, with an 18th century external chimney stack at the north end; (2) to the south of it, the two-bay parlour/solar crosswing of a 15th century hall house; (3) to the east of this, a three-bay range comprising the two-bay hall with inserted chimney stack of around 1600 in the east bay, and the originally storeyed service bay; the roofs of all the foregoing have been rebuilt as gambrelled attics in the 18th century; (4) along the north side of this range, an 18th century lean-to extension forming a slated catslide of the main roof; (5) to the north of (1) a brick stable block, 18th century, with tiled hipped roof. The west wall of this block has been extended south in the 18th century to form a brick facade to (1) and (2) facing the churchyard. The building is mainly of two storeys with attics, and the stable block is of two storeys. The west and south elevations have scattered fenestration, and the west elevation bares a plain boarded door in a weatherboarded lean-to porch. The stable block has two 20th century windows on each floor, two plain boarded doors and one pair of double doors. The 15th century build (1) has a blocked large first-floor window facing west (towards the church, EHER 38544), with mortices for moulded mullions and a rebate for hinged shutters. There is a 17th century framed ceiling, forming the floor of the 18th century gambrelled attic. The hall (3) has a large wood-burning hearth of 0.33 metre brickwork against the south wall, and an inserted floor from around 1600. On the ground floor of the service bay, the north wall has been removed, and the east wall rebuilt in the 18th century. On the first floor of this range, lighting an internal stair, is an 18th century borrowed-light, of two lights each of 12 rectangular leaded panes, with original glass, leading and wrought iron saddle bars, a rare survival which merits special care. Deeds in the possession of the owners include the grant of a licence for use as a beerhouse in 1670, at which time the property comprised a beerhouse, stable, barn, cottage, smithy, and 4 acres. <1> See photos <2>. The Bell public house is actually two 15th century houses which have had the space between them infilled to create one building. One of these houses is a normal open hall house with a crosswing at one end and a two storied service bay at the other end. In the 16th century the hall had a chimney inserted and was floored to create two stories. This part of the current building is now the public area of the pub. The other medieval house is a two-bay, two storey structure (now forming the toilet and lobby area) which is thought to have originally been a priest's house. In the 18th century the hall and service bay were extended with a lean-to structure which now contains the bar and entrance area. Also in the 18th century, a stable block was built which is now the kitchen with the 'club room' above it. <3> November 2018 - June 2019. Watching brief. A watching brief uncovered foundations of 18th or early 19th century date, one of which enclosed part of a late 17th or early 18th century brick floor. These remains correspond to an annexe attached to the northern part of the public house detailed on 19th century OS mapping of the area, which was demolished at some point during the mid 20th century. The monitoring found no archaeological finds, features or horizons to the north of the road. <4>