External Features:
Ground Floor: Brick-built and painted. The doorway and the flanking bow-fronted shop windows are modern with a classical flavour.
First Floor: This projects very slightly beyond the ground floor walling, so this shows that the building, in spite of its outward appearance, is timber-framed.
We can now see that the whole front was ‘modernised’ to disguise its 17th-century origin by the application of mathematical tiles which simulate brick- work. These have been painted. The windows are of early Victorian style, no doubt contemporary with the re-facing.
To complete the transformation of the building in a posh way, the front was carried up with a cornice to finish the wall-top, with a parapet and box-gutter behind.
Furthermore, the upper part of the wall was provided with dummy windows, fully glazed and the glass painted black to conceal the roof behind. To what lengths people will go, and still do, for fashion!
In recent times, however, attics have been made in the roof space and the windows utilised, so the trompe l’oeil no longer exists.
Internal Features:
The rooms are panelled, so most 17th-century features are obscured. There are two ornamental brackets and some ceiling cornices which pre-date the ‘modernisation’ (Fig. 1).
At the time of the refurbishment in 1974, much of the original timbering was exposed, which suggested a date of early 17th century. As the building is a separate structure from its neighbour, No. 7, this confirms that the ‘Forge House’ was earlier in date than 1671, as mentioned above.
Briscall W., 1987, Discovering Ashford’s Old Buildings, Ashford, LRB Historical Publications
List Entry
Grade: II
Date first listed: 24-Sep-1951
- 1. 5344 NORTH STREET (West Side) No 9 TR 0142 NW 1/73 24.9.51. II GV
- 2. C18. 3 storeys painted brick with some renewed brickwork. Brick parapet and wooden modillion eaves cornice. 2 sashes with renewed glazing bars. Doorcase in the centre with engaged fluted Doric columns, enriched frieze, modillion cornice and half-glazed door. Another to the south in moulded architrave surround with enriched frieze, projecting cornice over and door of 6 fielded panels, the top 2 panels cut away and glazed. Continuous dentilled cornice over the ground floor. 2 modern shop fronts.
Nos 7-13 (odd) form a group.
Listing NGR: TR0103542904