Summary

A pair of houses dating to around the late C17 and converted into a shop and flat in the C20.

Description

A pair of houses dating to around the late C17 and converted into a shop and flat in the C20.

MATERIALS: the building is constructed of cut and partly knapped flint with red brick dressings and a pantile roof.

PLAN: the building faces west onto London Street. It has an approximately square plan.

EXTERIOR: the two-storey building is three window bays wide under a gabled roof which has three gabled dormers fitted with two-light casements. There are internal gable-end chimney stacks to the right and left and a dentil eaves cornice. The first floor has a platband and there are three six-over-six pane unhorned sash windows. The entrance is set left of centre and is a half-glazed door within a timber doorcase. The site of the former door is located immediately to the right and is now a two-over-two pane horned sash window. To the right of this is another two-over-two pane horned sash window. To the left of the doorway is a six-over-six pane unhorned sash window.

INTERIOR: on the ground floor the south room has a chamfered bridging beam with tongue stops and replaced joists and a blocked inglenook fireplace. The front first-floor rooms have been opened into a single space. The roof was replaced around 1800 and it has principal rafters in two tiers with taper-tenoned butt purlins and collars.

History

Swaffham’s significance in the medieval period stemmed from its position on the crossroads of the main routes from London, Norwich and King’s Lynn. The first written record of a market in the town, which was established on a triangular-shaped area formed by the convergence of the aforementioned roads, was in 1215 when King John issued a royal writ to the Sherriff of Norfolk to abolish it should it ‘damage the market in Dunham’. It was never abolished and expanded rapidly. The Market Place was probably open to the church on its east side, but later C17 development closed this off, while the development of The Shambles in the middle in the late C18/early C19, further reduced the size of the open space. From the mid-C18, for a period of just over a hundred years, Swaffham became one of the most populous parishes in Norfolk and one of the most fashionable centres in the county, attracting many leading West Norfolk Families. A racecourse had been established by 1628, the Assembly Rooms were constructed in 1776-1778, subsequently extended and modernised in 1817, and George Walpole, the Third Earl of Orford (1730-1791), founded a coursing club in 1786. During this period of prosperity, much rebuilding took place around the Market Place and the overall character of the town is primarily of mid- to late Georgian in date, although there is evidence for C16-C17 work behind many façades. Further rebuilding also took place after ‘The Great Fire of Swaffham’, which probably started in the vicinity of the Blue Boar Inn (now the White Hart) on the afternoon of 14 November 1775, when it was set ablaze by a spark from a nearby blacksmith’s workshop. Fire soon engulfed the densely packed houses and workshops behind the inn and along London Road, with 22 buildings being completely destroyed and a further two badly damaged. The town continued to expand in the C19 when its population increased from 2,200 in 1800 to 3,350 in 1845. It also became an important local administrative centre during this period and acquired several notable buildings, including a National School (1838), Shire Hall (1839) and Corn Hall (1858).

9 London Street was built as a pair houses and dates to the late C17. They are depicted on the 1797 Faden map of Swaffham and the 1883 first edition Ordnance Survey map. These historic maps also show a range extending perpendicular to the rear of the building. This range had been demolished by 1973. The building was converted into a shop and flat in the C20.

Reasons for Listing

9 London Street is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a vernacular domestic building, which contributes strongly to the architectural character and diversity of Swaffham;
* for the architectural quality with red brick dressings, dentilled eave cornice and platband;
* for the use of regional materials in the form of knapped flint.

Historic interest:

* for the contribution it makes to the evolution of London Street and development of the town.

Group value:

* for its strong historic group value with many other listed buildings of a similar date and domestic function on London Street, particularly with the neighbouring 7 London Street to the north and Ventnor House (number 11) to the south, which are also listed at Grade II.

External Links

• Wikidata Q26559739

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)