Building record SUY 221 - 88-89 East Street, Sudbury

88-89 East Street is a red brick house with its cellars was the original building dating to circa 1800. It was quite modest with two rooms either side of a central hallway. It is likely that the Cellar, which could be accessed from the yard, was also used as the Kitchen as it is unusual to find a fireplace in a cellar in a modest house. The building was enlargedaround the middle of the 19th Century before the 1880 Ordnance Survey. This consisted of a two storey rear extension on a lower level providing a kitchen and another upper room, possibly a bathroom.

The Stable range was a separate building and the blackened interiors that remain indicate strongly it was the Smithy noted on the OS map. The row of tethering rings in the western wall reinforces this idea. The upper rooms may have been habitable before they were converted in the mid 20th Century to an additional bedroom and en-suite for the house. Half of the range was demolished between 1972 and 1976.

The extension of the house into the Stable was most likely done in the 1950’s after the rest of the terrace had been demolished to make space for Cavendish Way. However most of the decor that remains is of the Art Deco period before WW2 and is typified by the four panel doors, home-made construction and the Bakelite fittings.

Half of the house was used as a shop selling Dr Marten’s shoes in the Late 20th to Early 21st Century and the rest ceased to be used for accommodation. As a result the house fell into disrepair and neglect and was purchased in a parlous state in 2010, a period of economic recession.
The house is in a parlous state with large holes in the roof, floors and ceilings. The floor of the Stable is rotted and unsafe, beyond economic repair. Of its original décor only a single Adams style fire surround remains (S1).