Site of late 15th century timber framed public house, The Chequers, High Street (EHER 14755)

Now destroyed. The site of a timber framed public house with origins in the late 15th century, and alterations in the 16th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. It was demolished in 1987 which provided an opportunity to excavate the site and record the sequence of alterations. Much of the archaeological remains were disturbed by later intrusions, but the excavation recorded a late 15th century timber framed cross wing, attached to a building parallel with the High Street, and which was contemporary with timber outbuildings, one containing a hearth. The building was rebuilt in the late 16th/17th century, with new outbuildings and hearths in the backyard. It was again reconstructed with a new timber frame in the 18th century, a brick cellar was added in the early-mid 18th century, and a brick frontage was added in the late 18th/early 19th century, alongside a series of outbuildings shown on the 1st edition OS map. The area beyond the site’s southern limit was occupied by a yard and stables, later converted into garages. The High Street frontage was remodelled with two curved bow windows as part of the refurbishment by Ind Coope in 1939, giving the Chequers its final appearance.

July-August 1987. Archaeological excavation. In the late 15th and 16th century a timber cross-wing on stone footings occupied the east of the site. To the west, where there was probably a hall on the frontage which had not survived, there were to the rear outbuildings, hearths and a cess pit in a back yard. This represents the earliest phase of the Chequers, first documented in 1568. The building was rebuilt with an internal brick chimney stack in the later 16th or early 17th century, with further outbuildings and hearths in the yard. A central brick cellar was inserted in the early 18th century during a general rebuilding of the Chequers, whose timber framing survived to be recorded at the time of demolition in 1987. <1> Excavation took place after the recording and demolition of a 17th century timber framed building, incorporating remnants of a possibly 15th century structure. The presence of a large cellar left two small areas near the frontage for excavation. In the 14th/15th century the level across the site was raised and a substantial building, occupying the entire frontage was constructed. It is possible that elements of this building are those incorporated into the framing of the Chequers. <2> See photo. <3> In the late 15th century, the site was built on again after an interval in which it had been an external area and a rubbish dump (see EHER 80265). The structure in the eastern area is interpreted as a bay or cross-wing attached to a main building parallel with the High Street, of which almost all evidence has been destroyed by later cellars. In the western area a timber outshot appears to have been added to the rear of the main building, with timber outbuildings in a yard, one, probably a kitchen, containing a hearth, and the second a plank-lined cess pit. Both the cross-wing and the outbuildings would have been timber-framed, supported on rubble footings. Documentary evidence dating to 1568 suggests that the Chequers was already an extant property by this date, when it was described as facing the head of St Peter’s Lane (Market Hill) and beside Chequers Lane. The plot occupied a frontage of at least 12m, with an existing eastern boundary along Chequers Lane which, according to its earlier name of Friary Lane, probably originated in the late medieval period, following the foundation of the Carmelite Friary in 1292/1293. If, as has been suggested, parts of the High Street were laid out in units of 4 rods or 20m, then the Chequers site together with No.58 to the west could have formed a single plot. In the later 16th to 17th century, the building was rebuilt, with new outbuildings and hearths in the back yard. The structural changes made extensive use of brick, but they appear to represent insertions within an existing timber framed building. Evidence for this phase of rebuilding has in many cases been disturbed or obscured by later rebuilding in the 18th century, but can be demonstrated by the common occurrence of Tudor 'place' bricks of the 16th to early 17th century, reused in the later rebuilding. The building of the cross-wing appears to have used bricks to repair existing foundations and probably also to provide footings for the new extension to the south. The large brick fireplace and chimney inserted into the cross-wing is a typical later 16th or early 17th century feature. It is assumed that the chimney was added to a wall in a building range on the street frontage which has not survived. It is possible that a brick cellar was inserted at the same time as the chimney. The record of the General Sessions of April 1606 includes a reference which confirms the establishment of the Chequers as a ‘tipplinghouse’ by that date. The hearths and a possible tank in the western area show that this rear part of the building was probably used as a kitchen or brewhouse. The rebuilding may have begun before 1606, perhaps in 1568, when there is documentary evidence for building of a new entrance passage and parlour following sub-division of the property. It is also likely that the modern boundaries of the site were defined as a result of the 1568 sub-division. The building on the High Street frontage was reconstructed with a new timber frame in the 18th century, which survived to be recorded in 1987, and a brick cellar which was added in the early-mid 18th century. A brick frontage was added in the late 18th or early 19th century and the cellar was extended in the late 19th century. A print from around 1850 shows the Chequers with a brick front and sash windows, with the doorway right of centre flanked by square-set bays, that to the left being two storey. There was another bay, only single storey, at the east end of the façade. These bays would have been additions to an earlier flush brick façade. The brick facade was capped by a parapet and the attic was lit by small dormer windows. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Chequers acquired the outbuildings shown on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey of around 1875. This shows the bay windows and an air vent to the cellar on the main frontage and a possible mounting block on the pavement. The Ordnance Survey map also confirms that the area immediately to the south of the main building was occupied by an extensive outshot, with a small side-passage providing access off Chequers Lane. The area beyond the site’s southern limit was occupied by a yard and stables, later converted into garages. The High Street frontage was remodelled with two curved bow windows as part of the refurbishment by Ind Coope in 1939, giving the Chequers its final appearance. <1>