25 and 25a Market Place (former Red Lion Public House and part of Belinda Bakers), Ringwood, Hampshire

Summary

Former public house of C18 origin (number 25) amalgamated with a former retail unit (number 25a) both with C19 and C20 alterations. At the time of the inspection in March 2022, the building was undergoing exterior and interior renovation and some elements had been rebuilt.

Description

Former C18 public house (number 25, vacant) amalgamated with a former retail unit with a C19 frontage but possible earlier core (number 25a, formerly known as number 27) both with C19 and C20 alterations. At the time of the inspection in March 2022, the building was undergoing exterior and interior renovation and some elements had been rebuilt.

MATERIALS: both buildings are of brick, mostly of C18 date for number 25 and probably early C19 for 25a, both rendered to the front, overpainted at the east gable end of number 25, plain clay-tile roofs.

PLAN: number 25, the former public house, had a two room plan in the front pile, with service rooms in the rear pile. The ground floor was opened up in the C20, with differing levels introduced, but it remains legible broadly. To the east is a vehicular entrance or carriageway with room over. To the west, number 25a (formerly number 27) was probably built as a house but was in commercial use at the time of listing; it has a one room plan but was amalgamated with number 25 in the mid-C20.

EXTERIOR: number 25 is of two storeys and three bays with a one bay room over the carriage way at the east side. The roof is double pile with two rebuilt end stacks to the inn; the rear pile is hipped at both ends (and incorporates number 25a at the west end). The frontage has a central main entrance with a four-panelled door and a C18 doorcase of panelled pilasters, with roundel capitals and cut brackets supporting open pediment. On either side at the ground floor are wide C19, six-over-six sashes with horns beneath slightly tented hoods. There is an additional entrance at the north-east corner of the building. At the first floor are narrower window openings, probably original, with six-over-six horned sash windows. The upper part of the front elevation has been partially rebuilt in 2022.

The gated carriageway has granite setts and brick paviours. Above is a single-bay room, beneath a pitched roof set slightly higher than that to the main range, with the front cantilever supported on timber brackets; axial bridging beams are exposed on the soffit. This room has a wide tri-partite bay window of two-over-two sashes to the front; additional structure steels have been added to stabilise the window, cantilever and roof structure above. The east gable end of the C18 inn is exposed in the passageway at the ground floor. The bricks are overpainted but appear to be narrow and laid in stretcher bond. Two C20 windows and one door with straight brick lintels are inserted into this wall: at the rear, the wall is corbelled for ease of vehicular movement.

The rear elevation of number 25 has a C19 outshot and later bay window with uPVC windows at the ground floor. The rich red, narrow brick laid in stretcher bond is exposed above with three flush sash windows of six-over-six panes, probably late C18 or early C19 in date. The room over the carriageway has a gabled roof, and a C20 window at the first floor: it is clad with weatherboard and hung slate.

Number 25a has two bays and is of two storeys with an attic. The frontage has a part glazed entrance door at the left side with square margin light over. To the right of the entrance is a pair of eight-over-eight horned sash windows beneath a C19 shop surround and likely blind box. Above are two smaller sash windows of six-over-six panes. Above the cornice is a brick parapet, rebuilt in the C21, and a pitched roof; the attic has a small dormer with hipped roof and a sash window. The rear elevation is in orange brick, probably early C19 in date. At the ground floor, the rear extension along the west boundary wall has been removed, and the door into the building blocked; to the right is a sash window of six-over-six panes beneath a segmental head.

INTERIOR: as a result of the renovation, the front pile roof structure to number 25 has been replaced like-for-like; structural steel bracing has been inserted at the partition walls at the first floor and above; the floor frames have been strengthened throughout; most internal finishes, fixtures and fittings have been removed, except where noted below.

The ground floor of number 25 is open plan. At the party wall with number 25a is a remodelled brick fireplace with bresumer. The beer cellar to the rear has axial bridging beams. It is unclear where the C18 stair to number 25 was located originally, but the current main stairs, located between the front and rear piles, are quarter-turn and late-C19. On the first floor landing there is a glazed screen and some wall panelling. The front pile roof structure has been replaced like-for-like; the C18 roof timbers are stored on site. The rear pile roof structure is a pegged ‘A’ frame with collars and purlins; some carpenters marks are visible; additional timber has been inserted tor structural reasons.

In number 25a the stairs from the ground floor were removed probably when the property was amalgamated with the public house. The openings inserted in the party wall then have been filled with blockwork. On the first floor the stairs are narrow dog leg with simple banisters but the cupboard and door noted in the heritage statement do not appear to be present. In the attic room some plaster and lathe panels remain, with the simple ‘A’ frame roof structure partly exposed where the plaster has come away.

History

Ringwood is located close to the western edge of the New Forest on the banks of the River Avon. The Market Place is located at the western end of the town centre and is probably the site of the earliest market, established in 1226. On the north side is the parish Church of St Peter and Paul (1853, Grade II*) built on the site of an earlier church. On the south side of the Market Place, the buildings appear to be of C18 and C19 date, but the presence of earlier cores cannot be ruled out. The partial, fossilised boundaries of burgage plots are apparent in the townscape south of the Market Place.

The former Red Lion Public House was probably built as a coaching inn in the later C18, almost certainly on the site of an earlier building. There is no evidence of an earlier core to the building. A vehicular entrance and passageway at the east (left) of the frontage led to a large open yard to the south (rear); it is possible that the room above the entrance was built later than the inn as its roof is slightly higher. Number 25a (formerly no 27) seems to have been remodelled in the early C19 from the exposed brickwork at the rear.

The historic Ordnance Survey mapping from 1871 onwards shows number 25 with the passageway. A historic photograph of about 1900 shows the frontages of the listed buildings on the south side of the Market Place in a similar configuration as today. A number of buildings in the rear yard of the public house have since been demolished.

In about 1960-1970, numbers 25 and 27 appear to have been amalgamated to become numbers 25 and 25a. The stairs to the former number 27 were probably removed at this time, and the plan-form significantly altered to create an open plan public house on the ground floor.

The recent work to the building has exposed previously unseen historic alterations as well as the replacement of structural elements. These include:

Historic alterations:

- the rear pile roof structure is probably early C19 in date rather than C18 and extends over number 25a which may suggest a wider building campaign at that time;
- there are very few surviving fixtures and fittings of the C18 and C19 in situ, apart from the remodelled fireplace with bresummer on the ground floor, at the party wall between numbers 25 and 25a; the two-panelled door and four-panelled doors, and fireplaces noted in the 2020 heritage statement (see sources) are no longer in situ. The stairs in number 25 are all late-C19 and may have been repositioned at that time;
- the party wall between 25 and 25a had significant modern openings punched through it at the ground floor when the buildings were integrated.

Rebuilding and replacement:

- of the front parapet to 25a, and some of the front wall of number 25, reusing bricks where possible, and partial rebuilding of the upper part of the party wall between 25 and 25a;
- all chimneys, in addition to some of their supporting partition walls;
- the front pile roof structure has been replaced with like-for-like oak members (the original structure remains on site and will be repositioned into the new structure). The rear pile roof has been strengthened with new oak members;
- removal of most of the façade’s external render and most internal finishes, including a substantial amount of interior wall plaster;
- strengthening of existing floor frames with oak joists, removal of some floorboards;
- window lintels, the front wall plate and other structural timbers which had rotted because of poor maintenance in the past have been replaced. Steel framework has been inserted to support structural integrity at some partition walls on the first floor and to the cantilevered bay window over the passageway;
- some window frames have been removed for renovation;
- the single storey rear extension to number 25a has been demolished.

Reasons for Listing

25 and 25a Market Place, Ringwood are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* despite the loss of some historic fabric through repair and alteration, the building retains its external envelope, notably its distinctive façade and character as a late-C18 former inn.

Group value:

* with the many listed buildings in Ringwood’s townscape including 23, 25, 25a and 31 on the south side of the Market Place and 16, 18 and 22 on the north side.

External Links

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