EXTERNAL FEATURES:
Modern shop front. Above this, plastered wall painted green.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT:
As mentioned in Reference No. 1, this building was refurbished with the shop complex of Messrs. Headley Brothers. This work revealed a few old features showing the building’s early beginnings. Although in its external appearance the structure seems to be joined to No. 41, the builders were surprised to find on the first floor that there was a 4 in. gap between the two. The building was obviously timber-framed, but there has been much substitution by modern materials.
Figure 1 shows the existing timberwork exposed at the time of the refurbishment. Note especially the massive corner post, 8 in. by 11 in. by 20 ft. high with a large jowl at its head. The floor levels have been altered and a -later floor joist has been pegged into this jowl (Fig. 4). During the work on the building, some old timbers were also seen in the west wall. In the north wall at the back, were found remains of an old external window, which originally had wooden mullions and a sliding shutter—a feature used before the use of glass (Fig. 5).
As in Nos. 40 and 42, the front wall and roof have been raised so that use could be made of the roof- space. In this case, the old tiled roof at the rear was not altered.
It is difficult to date the erection of the building with so much lost, but it is possible to make the conjecture that it was in the late 16th century or early 17th century.
Briscall W., 1987, Discovering Ashford’s Old Buildings, Ashford, LRB Historical Publications