There and Back

The houses in Benton Street vary considerably in size, from the properties listed first in this post, (number 37 to 41) to the grand ones like the Old Manse further down the road and also Benton End House. Still a beautiful street, despite the modern curse of traffic which is reaching a point where something will need to be done to alleviate the problem. There are a few closed pubs in the street, the ones not shown here are the Black Swan at number 4 and the Falcon at number 63, as neither are listed buildings.  So, onto a few of the listed buildings. Numbers 37 to 41, are probably of C17 origin, classed as a `range of tenements` over two storeys with an attic. It`s the usual timber-framed and plastered building, and is listed as having a `Central ground floor entry with double doors` but now has more doors added, it appears. Probably when the house was divided up into the three properties which it now appears to be. The Old Manse at number 90 Benton Street is an C18 building over ...

If you are ever visiting Hadleigh in Suffolk, then a visit to the beautiful complex consisting of the Guildhall, St Mary`s Church, and Archdeacon`s Gatehouse, is a must.  While most of the buildings which are Listed in Hadleigh are Grade 2, this group of buildings are all Group 1 - except the wall, which is Grade 2. The buildings known locally as the Guildhall are made up of three buildings. The Market House, The Guilds Halls and The New Town Hall (Grand Hall) are situated on land that belonged originally to the Manor of Toppesfield Hall.  Some History: In 1252 Henry  III  granted to Gilbert de Kirkeby, Lauretta his wife and their heirs: a weekly market and an annual fair. By 1438 the Lord of the Manor was William de Clopton; he granted these rights including the rights to the Market House to 15 Hadleigh Trustees, initially for a payment of 6s 8d. (34p) a year, the Hadleigh Market Feoffment was formed to manage the market and buildings. Later the Guil...

This is the second in my series based on listed houses in Hadleigh. This particular post is going to focus on properties in the the short road at the end of the High Street - Bridge Street and Corks Lane. As with my previous Blog posts, the technical description of the property is taken from Historic England or Heritage.Suffolk.Gov sites. Front and side view of No 1 Bridge Street. This property was built around the C17 with red brick front added later. Walking around the side, the surprise is the timbered section, as shown in the above photo. It has two storeys with a three windows format and a tiled roof. Many of the Hadleigh properties have exposed timber structures visible, once you move to the sides and backs - not always possible I am afraid. No 11 / 13 (on the left) and No 15 Bridge Street. This lovely building is a two storey timber framed building and is now plastered. It has cross wings on the northwest and southeast, with projecting upper storeys on the front. Little altered...

John Betjeman once said:   “Hadleigh is one of the most perfect small towns in England, with trees, old red brick, flint and plaster and that unassuming beauty of East Anglia, which changes to glory in sunlight.” There are around 246 listed buildings in Hadleigh, which by any standard is amazing for a small town like ours. This is a photographic record of a few of them, with the `Listing Text` for each building coming from Historic England. Unfortunately large numbers have been refronted, especially in the C18-19, the plaster and brick walls hiding much medieval timber framing. The preservation of so many mediaeval and Tudor buildings is due to the poverty that struck the town after the collapse of the wool trade in the 16th century: the inhabitants could not afford to knock down or renovate in accordance with the fashions of the time. I have restricted each blog entry to the same street, where possible; this first entry being buildings in the High Street. Amazingly, of the 137 bu...