Building record SBN 104 - The Old Bakehouse

The Old Bakehouse adjoins the southern side of Church Street in the centre of Stoke by Nayland, and is listed at grade II along with its almost identical neighbour as ‘two adjoining 18th century timber-framed and plastered houses’. The listing makes no reference to a detached 17th century timber-framed bakehouse to the rear, which was partly rebuilt in brick in 1802 (according to an incised date). The property includes a single-storied brick shop and gateway on the right and is understood to have produced bread on a commercial basis until the 1950s when it became the premises of an antique dealer. It was occupied in the 1830s by one Henry Green, a baker who was declared bankrupt in 1854. The early-19th century enclosure and tithe maps show different site layouts and in their present form the two houses probably date from 1837, as indicated by a chalk inscription in the roof. The internal wall adjoining the shop appears to represent the high end of a 15th century open hall, and additional medieval fabric may survive elsewhere – although much of the exposed timber was re-used. Both houses have been much altered but were probably built with the classic ‘two-up, twodown’ layout of the early-19th century, with lobby entrances in front of their central chimneys. The chimney of The Old Bakehouse divided a small parlour on the left from a more spacious kitchen/living area with a larger fireplace on the right. The present kitchen is likely to have formed part of the adjoining shop, which is now very narrow. The detached bakehouse preserves the outline of a large chimney in its gable, but its ovens and coppers appear to have been removed before the mid-20th century and its single room was used as an antique store and workshop in the 1970s. The house retains a small number of fixtures and fittings consistent with its refurbishment in the 1830s including a good corner cupboard and two plain fire surrounds, but its historic significance lies chiefly in its contribution to an important street scene. There is evidence of two major phases of restoration in recent years, one involving the conversion of the bakehouse into a domestic annex by a previous owner and another of circa 2010 which chiefly affected the house. The latter is well documented by photographs and included the replacement of the staircase, the rebuilding of the main fireplace and alterations to other 19th century fixtures. The upper storey was rearranged to create a corridor and four bedrooms from the previous three.