Building record LVM 152 - 1 Lady Street

Removal of the render from the upper storey of the rear elevation revealed a well preserved timber-framed structure of the late-15th or eary-16th century that retains much of its wattle and daub. The sill of a contemporary window survives, together with two of its three diamon mullions, and there is evidence of four secondary inserted windows, Of particular interest is the evidence of an additional secondary window created by removing the wattle and daub of the four infill panels beside the original windoww to the level of its sill. The extension was later blocked with wattle and daub of 16th or 17th century character, and it is suggested that the alteration may have been occurred in 1530 (or shortly afterwards) when the Guildhall of Corpus Christi was built on the iste of the medieval merchant's house to which the present fabric belonged. The evidence of this unusual window movement (or enlargement) is contained only in the subtly different consistencies of the two associated phases of infill, and empahsises the archaeological importance of wattle and daub, which is often removed without examination. The rear wall was jettied ti the courtyard behind the Guildhall, as indicated by the remaining jetty bressummer (the upper, outer horizontal timber of the jetty), but the joists now rest on a later timber that appears contemporary with the existing, unrendered brickwork that was used to 'push out' the jetty in the 18th century.

The timbers of the southern (downhill) gable of 1 Lady Street were not fully exposed during the period of study, and remained hidden behind render within the 20th century lean-to that contains the kitchen of the modern residence. The tiebeam was shown to have been replaced and the roof gable reconstructed in the 18th century, re-using some older timbers, but the individual studs appear to remain in situ behind the render between tie-beam and mid-rail.

Like its rear wall, the front elevation of the building was originally jettied but underbuilt with brickwork in the 18th century. This brickwork, laid in Flemish Bond, is shown exposed in photographs of the late-19 th century, beneath a rendered upper storey, but was plastered when the existing windows and door were inserted around 1900. The brickwork was designed to accommodate two windows flanking a central entrance door after the existing pattern, but a blocked aperture above the modern door shows its 18 th century predecessor to have been slightly wider and possessed of a fanlight. The timbers above the jetty are well-preserved, retaining quantities of wattle and daub and areas of both primary and secondary lime plaster between the studs. Evidence of two original windows was uncovered, one of which (to the north) contained five diamond mullions and the other three, but no mullions remain. The end-sections of the jetty joists were fully exposed in the front elevation, unlike the rear, and were seen, despite their substantial size, to have been cut from trees of no more than thirty years growth (rendering them unsuitable for dendrochronological dating). As in the rear elevation the original wall beneath the jetty gas been lost, but the joists rest on a re-used section of jetty plate, turned through 90 degrees, that contain mortises for studs, window mullions and doors. This plate appears to have belonged to the same structure, but is too long to have been re-used from the front wall and may have instead been taken from the slightly longer rear wall (S1).