Description

WORCESTER

SO8554NW FRIAR STREET
620-1/17/296 (West side)
22/05/54 Nos.38-42 (Even)
Tudor House Museum
(Formerly Listed as:
FRIAR STREET
(West side)
(Even)
Tudor House)

GV II*

Formerly houses, Cross Keys Tavern from c1765, coffee house
c1900-20, now museum. C16, probably c1575-1625. Timber frame
with rendered infill; rear wings mostly clad and remodelled in
brick in early/mid C18; plain clay tile roofs, 2 large,
altered sandstone and brick stacks to rear elevation.
PLAN: Front range of 4 bays, sub-divided by party walls which
do not respect bay divisions, ground-floor since altered.
Outer wings at right angles to main range at rear. C18
carriage-drive inserted to right of centre to access rear.
EXTERIOR: 2-storey with attics and cellar. 4 bays of framing,
upper floor jettied with mid-rail to close studding; box
framing to rest of building. Four first-floor windows, 3 and
4-light mullion and transom leaded-light casements,
replacements for earlier oriel windows. C19 shopfront to left
ground-floor, two 2/2 sashes to right. North elevation of rear
wing to left of passage has arched heads to windows (including
early/mid C19 3-light iron casement window in wood frame) and
plat bands to first and second-floors; this south wing has
exposed timber framing to rear, with central jowled post being
all that remains of a C16 workshop range which extended
further to rear.
INTERIOR: Front range has queen-post roof with clasped purlins
and straight wind-braces. 3 open fireplaces with wood
bressumers, that to right moulded and probably reset.
Ground-floor room to right has mid C18 panelled dado. Ceilings
provided to upper floors from outset, with chamfered beam
exposed to right; that to left of centre has fine early C17
moulded plaster work, design based on flowing curved ribs
enclosing prancing horse, fleur-de-lys and rosette motifs, and
central beam with running vine pattern in relief. Mid C18
staircase, quarter-turn with winders and altered with early
C20 newel posts, has turned balusters on closed string. Rear
wing to north (right) has clasped purlins and queen- post
truss, mostly with reused timbers.
HISTORICAL NOTE: the rear wings were originally longer and
housed loomshops (Hughes).
(Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Worcestershire:
Harmondsworth: 1968-1985: 334; Worcester Streets: Hughes P and
Molyneux N: Friar Street: Worcester: 1984-: 24-27).

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Tudor House Museum official website
• Wikidata Q17548160

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

• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)