Building record YAX 060 - The Bull Auberge

The Bull Auberge is a grade II listed timber-framed structure of the early-17th century that was probably built as part of a high-status yeoman or gentry residence. The building was originally jettied to the adjacent A140 highroad and retains impressive ovolo-moulded ceilings in its hall and parlour. The present house represents only a fragment of a larger property and the presumed site of its missing section to the north is now occupied by a single-storied 20th century addition. The hall was initially heated by a fireplace against its rear wall, but this was replaced in the late-17th century by the present chimney at its northern end. The original ground-floor framing at the same end of the hall was removed accordingly, and the studwork partition that now divides the chimney from the front elevation is secondary to the fabric. This partition, which forms the subject of this report, extends by 8 feet (2.4 metres) in length from the chimney to the front elevation, consists of various re-used timbers and has been much altered. Its principal historic interest lies in two ovolo-moulded timbers that were probably salvaged from a window and doorway of the original building and now provide unique evidence of its appearance.