Castle Street

Castle Street

Monuments (419)–(423) appear on the map of Blue Boar Chequer, p. 132.

(419) House, No. 1, of three storeys with attics, has brick walls and tiled roofs. The surviving structure represents about two thirds of a substantial town house, built during the first half of the 18th century and altered and redecorated towards the end of the same century. In 1858 the southern third was demolished to make room for the Market House (25). From 1861 to 1864 the remaining part accommodated the Brodie collection of antiquities, the nucleus of Salisbury Museum.

The E. front (Plate 77) is decorated with giant Doric pilasters, each capped by an independant triglyph and supporting a bracketed cornice. The doorway in the S. bay has Ionic columns and a pedimented entablature. A photograph taken before 1858 (Plate 14) shows a fifth pilaster.

Inside, the late 18th-century staircase (removed in the lower storey) is of oak with spiral open-string steps, slender turned balusters, a moulded handrail and a panelled dado; it is lit by an oval glass dome rising from an enriched frieze and culminating in an acanthus boss. The mezzanine drawing-room ceiling has delicate neoclassical plaster enrichment; the fireplace surround is of white marble inlaid with pink. In the N.E. first-floor room the ceiling has rococo decorations, perhaps of papier-mache. Kingdon & Shearm indicate a S.W. wing, now gone.

(420) Shops, Nos. 3–9, of two and three storeys with brick walls and slate-covered roofs, demolished in 1975, appear to have incorporated the upper part of the brick facades of three late 18th-century houses, all with plain sashed windows. Inside, nothing noteworthy remained. A range of early 19th-century buildings on the N.W. of No. 9 were formerly malthouses belonging to Pain's brewery (see (422)). A plan of 1834 is preserved (W.R.O., 451/73 (xlix)).

(421) House, No. 11, of three storeys with attics, with brick walls and slate-covered roofs, is of the late 18th century. The E. front has a projecting bow window in the second storey and a sashed window above. The third storey is faced with mathematical tiles.

(422) Houses, Nos. 19–25, and ranges of buildings flanking a courtyard on the W., mainly two-storeyed with attics, were demolished in 1968. Before demolition the buildings were used as offices and auction rooms (Plate 80), but in 1854 (Kingdon & Shearm) the site had been a brewery, part of which extended into the area of (420). Although mainly of the 19th century, the complex included earlier buildings. Behind its simple one-bay 18th-century brick facade, No. 19 (not illustrated) had timber-framed walls and was perhaps of 16th-century origin. No. 21 (l. in the photograph) was three-storeyed with brick walls and a tiled roof and appeared to be of the early 19th century. Adjacent on the N. was the entrance to No. 23, a conspicuous two-storeyed gateway with turrets in the 'Tudor' style, probably of c. 1865. No. 25 had a rendered late 18th-century twobay elevation of two storeys with plaster quoins and a bracketed cornice. Behind No. 25 the range on the N. of the courtyard was found on demolition to be of 16th-century origin. Some 20 ft. from the E. end the roof of the range had an arch-braced collar truss. Further W. the walls were partly of timber framework and the first floor rested on intersecting chamfered beams with runout stops. A large chimneybreast of rubble and brick had a 16th-century fireplace, facing E., with chamfered ashlar jambs and a chamfered oak bressummer; another fireplace was on the first floor. Adjacent on the W. was a smaller chimneybreast with a S.-facing fireplace, probably of the 17th century. Here the roof had collared tie-beam trusses with lower angle braces.

(423) Workshop, of two storeys with attics, formerly with brick walls and a tiled roof, is of 17th-century origin. It has been extensively remodelled and now is used as offices. The upper floor rests on stout chamfered beams with run-out stops. Truncated tie-beams in the four-bay roof are tenoned into queen-struts which rise from the attic floor beams. On a plan in the city archives, probably by Peniston, c. 1850, the building is called 'stores and coach-builders workshop'; in the surveys of city lands dated 1716 and 1783 it is called the New Stable. (fn. 1) The whole tenement, including a gateway to Castle Street, houses on each side of the gate, and land stretching W. to the Avon, was sold to the city in 1630 by Dr. John Mosely. (fn. 2) Naish's maps show a Free School in this position and the plan of c. 1850 designates as 'school-room' a large first-floor room overlooking Castle Street. Doubtless this was Salisbury's first free school, established elsewhere in 1559 and transferred to this site in 1624. (fn. 3) The school-room no longer exists, the E. part of the tenement having been rebuilt about the end of the 19th century.

(424) House, No. 31, of three storeys with rendered walls and slated and tile-covered roofs, is probably of the second quarter of the 18th century. The four-bay E. front has plain sashed windows in the upper storeys. Beside modern shop windows the lower storey retains an original doorway with fanlight, flat hood and scrolled acanthus brackets. Inside, several rooms have bolection-moulded panelling in two heights, and heavy moulded cornices.

(425) House, No. 35, has an E. front similar to and continuous with that of No. 31 (424). Inside, however, it is clear that the two buildings are not contemporary. No. 35 was originally two-storeyed, with timber-framed walls, probably of 16th-century origin. The S. elevation, facing a carriage through-way, has exposed timber framework and is jettied at the attic floor.

An outbuilding to W., with brick and tile-hung walls and with a tiled roof, appears to be of the 18th century.

(426) House, No. 41, of three storeys and a cellar, has brick walls and a slate-covered roof. Of early 18th-century origin it was remodelled during the first half of the 19th century, the E. front being rebuilt with ashlar quoins, a cornice and a plain parapet; there is a shop-window with Tuscan columns in the lower storey and three bays of plain sashed windows in each upper storey. Inside, a ground-floor room has an original stone chimney-piece with a moulded head and keystone.

(427) Houses, Nos. 43–5, now united and used as solicitors' offices, are mainly of three storeys and have brick-faced walls and tiled and slated roofs. From mediaeval times the ground of No. 45 was bounded on the N. by a conduit taking water from the mill-leat to the channels in the city streets; the 18th-century part of the house extends over this conduit. (fn. 4) In 1751, when No. 45 belonged to Alexander Powell (deputy recorder 1766–85), a deed recorded the extinction of a rightof-way which formerly passed from Castle Street across Powell's garden to a sluice-house in the N.W. corner of the garden; in exchange Powell granted right-of-way to the S. of the adjoining house (No. 43). (fn. 5) The deed states explicitly that Powell had 'enclosed the former passage and taken it into his parlour'. In 1792 the house was acquired by Joseph Tanner, (fn. 6) and in 1796 it was advertised to let, 'having been in great part new-built within the last four years'. It then comprised, on the ground floor an entrance hall, three parlours, kitchen etc.; on the first floor a drawing-room, a dressing-room and five bedrooms; in the attic storey five more bedrooms. A walled garden backing on the Avon measured 72 ft. by 132 ft. (fn. 7)

No. 43 is basically timber-framed and probably of 17th-century origin, but much of the framework was replaced by or cased in brickwork in the 19th century. An early but undated photograph (Plate 14) shows its plain E. front with a shop window in the lower storey.

No. 45, a town house consistent with Powell's standing, appears to have been built early in the 18th century. The E. front (Plate 75) is symmetrical and of five bays. Brick pilasters flanking the two upper storeys rise unconventionally from the apexes of the pedimented side porches, that on the N. blind, the other now containing the main entrance to the building. In the early photograph both side porches are blind and a doorway with a flat hood takes the place of the existing centre window. (The same photograph shows that the present coarse brick cornice replaces a more delicately modelled feature, probably of Roman cement.) In the original facade the S. porch probably gave access to the former passage to the sluicehouse; the blind N. porch is likely to have been put there for symmetry and perhaps partly in recognition of the conduit which must once have emerged at this point below the 18th-century facade. Presumably the brickwork which closes the S. porch in the old photograph was inserted by Powell, c. 1751. We do not know when the central doorway was abolished, but O.S. (1880) seems to suggest that it was still in existence at that date.

On the W., the house consists of two parallel ranges divided by a narrow court. The 18th-century kitchen range possibly incorporates the brick walls of a somewhat earlier building (ignored on the plan). On the S., where the garden of No. 43 must once have been, a range of c. 1792 comprises a drawing-room or music room, (fn. 8) with a triple W. window opening to a terrace from which formal steps descend to a large garden (map, p. 149). Low cellars raise the drawing-room to mezzanine level. A passage which passes from N. to S. in the basement storey may have been designed to accommodate the second right-of-way to the sluice-house. Some brickwork in this part of the building may be reused 17th-century material; it occurs below the level shown on the plan.

Inside No. 45, the early 18th-century oak staircase on the N. of the hall (Plate 88) has twisted Tuscan column balustrades and stout moulded handrails. A large chimneybreast in the N.W. parlour, now partly removed, suggests that this was once a kitchen. On the first floor, a round-headed doorway from the staircase landing to the large, panelled N.E. room indicates that the latter ranked originally as a drawing-room.

The S.E. ground-floor room in No. 45, now the vestibule, is evidently the parlour formed in 1751 by Alexander Powell; it has pine panelling in two heights and a bold wood cornice. The S. staircase in No. 45 was inserted in 1792 primarily to give access to Joseph Tanner's mezzanine drawing-room; part of a back room in No. 43 was taken to make room for it. The staircase is of oak with slender turned balusters and scrolled step spandrels. The mezzanine drawing-room has a carved wooden chimneypiece of c. 1720, presumably reset, with a pulvinated laurel-leaf frieze capped by a broken pediment. The ceiling is heavily enriched with baroque plasterwork, probably of c. 1900.

To W., axially laid out with regard to the drawing room window, a brick-walled garden extends to the mill stream. Centrally on the stream bank is a small gardenhouse of c. 1792 with rendered brick walls and a tiled roof.

(428) House, No. 47, of three storeys with brick walls and slate-covered roofs, was built during the second half of the 18th century. Above modern shop windows the three-bay E. front has uniform sashed windows in each upper storey. The moulded wooden cornice and brick parapet have recently been renewed. Inside, the altered ground plan implies a former through-passage on the north. The stairs, with turned balusters and a cast-iron newel-post at the foot, are of the 19th century. The first-floor rooms retain original cornices and dado rails, and a wooden chimneypiece with leaf enrichment, swags and paterae.

(429) House, No. 49, of three storeys with brick walls and a tiled roof, is probably of 1755. The threebay E. front is asymmetrical, with a shop window in the S. part with paired sashed windows in the upper storeys, and with a carriage through-way on the N. with a single sashed window in each upper storey. The eaves have a moulded brick cornice. The date 1755 appears on the keystone of an arch in the through-way.

(430) Houses, three adjacent, Nos. 57–61, and an adjoining Loom House were demolished in 1965. The houses were two-storeyed with attics and had timber-framed walls, partly faced with brickwork and partly tile-hung, and tiled roofs. No. 57 was of late 15th-century origin; Nos. 59 and 61 were of the 16th or 17th century; all three had been refronted in the 18th century and had pedimented doorways and sashed windows. Inside, the ground-floor room of No. 57 had 18th-century fielded panelling in three heights, elliptical-headed niches flanking the fireplace and a moulded stone chimneypiece. The roof of No. 57 was of four bays with two plain collared tie-beam trusses and, at the centre, a truss with arched braces. Nos. 59 and 61 had no notable features.

The loom-house (15 ft. by 65 ft.), some 15 ft. W. of No. 61 but originally connected with it, was two-storeyed with brick walls and a tiled roof. It is said to have been built in 1738 by the clothier Joseph Hinxman. (fn. 9) The N. front had twelve segmental-headed openings in the lower storey and four above.

(431) House, No. 63, of two storeys and attics, with timber-framed walls subsequently faced with brickwork and with tiled roofs, was built early in the 16th century. The symmetrical three-bay E. front is of the late 18th century, with a 19th-century shop window. Inside, there is evidence for a large fireplace, now blocked. Several rooms have chamfered beams. The roof of the E. range, ridged N.—S., has collared tie-beam trusses with lower king and queen struts, and clasped purlins; that of the W. range, at right-angles, has lower angle struts.

(432) House, No. 63, of two storeys and attics, has timber-framed walls faced in part with brickwork, and tiled roofs. Reset in the E. range is a rebated and chamfered beam from a panelled ceiling, perhaps of 15th-century origin. Elsewhere the timber framework appears to be of the 16th century with later additions. The five-bay E. front was built early in the 18th century, but the shop windows in the lower storey are modern. Inside, some 18th-century joinery remains.

(433) House, now two dwellings, Nos. 2 and 3 Ivy Place, is of two storeys with attics and has tile-hung timber-framed walls and tiled roofs. The building is of the 17th century and retains an original brick chimney-stack. Inside, joinery and fittings date from the mid 18th century, when the house was divided. The roof was altered in the mid 18th century.

(434) Cottages, row of eight, Nos. 4–11 Ivy Place, are three-storeyed with rendered brick walls and tilecovered roofs; they were built c. 1800. Inside, each dwelling has one room on each floor.

(435) House, No. 77, of two storeys and attics, has rendered brick walls and tile-covered roofs and was built about the middle of the 18th century. The E. front has an original doorway with a pedimented hood on shaped brackets. Inside, the large entrance vestibule contains a close-string staircase with column-shaped balusters.

(436) House, No. 79, of two and three storeys with tile-hung timber-framed walls and tiled roofs, is of the early 17th century. The E. front is jettied at the first floor and in the second storey has a projecting window, partly original, with ogee corbels. Inside, the ground-floor rooms have been obliterated to make a shop. The E. first-floor room retains original panelling and has a chimneypiece composed of 17th-century carved woodwork, reassembled.

(437) House, No. 81, of two low storeys with timber-framed walls and a tiled roof, is probably of 17th-century origin, but all original features are hidden by modern tile-work and internal fittings.

(438) George and Dragon Inn, together with No. 83, adjacent to S., are of two storeys with attics and have rendered timber-framed walls and tiled roofs. They were built early in the 16th century and probably were originally united. The E. fronts are jettied at the first floor. The main roof is ridged N.–S., but the middle bay (the S. bay of the inn) is part of a cross-range and is gabled to E. The E. doorway (d) of the through-passage has a moulded oak surround with a three-centred head and spandrels with cusped mouchettes. Other openings in the E. front are of the 18th century and later. Inside, the two E. ground-floor rooms of the inn (now united) have hollow-chamfered beams with shaped stops. The roof has collared tie-beam trusses with lower angle struts and clasped purlins. The W. wing retains original timber framework, but it was altered and added to in the 18th century.

(439) House, No. 87, of two storeys with attics, with timber-framed walls and tiled roofs, dates from early in the 16th century and may originally have been one with the adjoining building (438). The gabled E. front has modern windows. The N. wall of the lower storey, visible in a through-way, contains a blocked doorway with an ogee-headed timber surround. Inside, timber framework is exposed.

(440) Warehouse and Cottages, adjacent to No. 87 on the W., are two-storeyed and have timber-framed walls with brick nogging, and tiled roofs; probably they are of the 16th century. The warehouse is two-storeyed and of four bays. In the upper storey, jowl-headed wall-posts support cambered tie-beams with curved braces. The roof, ridged N.–S., hsa trusses with queen-posts, collars, clasped purlins and curved wind-braces. A cottage adjoining the warehouse on the E. has a two-bay plan; inside, the rooms have 18th-century joinery of poor quality. Another cottage has been formed in the two N. bays of the warehouse.

(441) House, No. 91, of two storeys with walls partly timber-framed and partly of brick, and with tiled roofs, is of 15th-century origin. The E. part of the house was rebuilt in the 18th century and the E. front, of brickwork, has a shop-window below three plain sashed windows; above is a moulded cornice with dentils. The W. part of the house retains original timber framework and is jettied W. and S. at the first floor. The lower storey contains an original fireplace with ashlar jambs and an oak bressummer. The corresponding first-floor room is of two bays; the open roof has an arch-braced collar-truss, purlins and curved wind-braces. A blocked doorway with an ogee-headed wooden lintel in the N. wall suggests that Nos. 91 and 93 (442) were originally one dwelling.

(442) House, No. 93, of two storeys with timber-framed walls fronted with brickwork and with a tiled roof, is mainly of the 15th century. The mid 18th-century E. front has a classical door-case (Plate 98) in which the entablature incorporates a window; the first-floor room has a projecting sashed bow window. Inside, the E. ground-floor room has a large original fireplace with ashlar jambs and an oak bressummer. On the first floor the E. room has a stone fireplace corresponding with that below. The roof has collared tie-beam trusses with lower angle braces.

(443) Hall, formerly adjacent to No. 93 on the W., was ruinous when investigated and recently has been largely demolished although part of the E. end remains. The single-storeyed building had timber-framed walls with wattle-and-daub infilling and a tiled roof. It probably was of 16th-century origin. Latterly used as a warehouse, the original purpose of the building is unknown.

(444) House, No. 95, of two storeys and an attic, with brick walls and a tile-covered roof, is of the early 19th century.

(445) House, No. 137, of two storeys and an attic, with brick walls and a tiled roof, was demolished in 1970. It was of the early 18th century and retained joinery of that period. During demolition the S. wall was seen to include vestiges of antecedent buildings.

(446) House, No. 206 Castle Street, of two storeys with attics, has brick walls and slate-covered roofs and was built early in the 19th century. The W. front is symmetrical and of three bays, with a round-headed central doorway under a segmental hood which rests on wood columns; the latter are carved to represent palm trees and reputedly come from Fonthill Abbey (Plate 99). The class-U plan appears on p. lxiv. The dining-room chimneypiece is enriched with a trophy of musical instruments. The stairs have graceful mahogany handrails and turned newel-posts.

(447) Cottages, pair, Nos. 184–6, of two storeys with attics, have brick walls and slate-covered roofs and were built c. 1800.

(448) Cottages, range of four, Nos. 172–8, are two-storeyed with brick walls and slate-covered roofs and were built c. 1840.

(449) Cottages, two adjacent, Nos. 142–4, are of two storeys with attics and have timber-framed walls partly encased in brickwork, and tile-covered roofs. Probably of 17th-century origin, remodelled c. 1850, they were originally one house.

(450) Cottages, range of three, Nos. 136–40, are of three storeys with attics and have brick walls and slate-covered roofs; they were built c. 1840.

(451) Cottages, two adjacent, No. 132, now united and much altered, are two-storeyed with brick walls and slate-covered roofs and are of early 19th-century origin.

(452) Cottages, three adjacent, Nos. 124–8, are of two storeys with attics; they have brick walls and tiled roofs and were built c. 1850.

(453) Cottages, pair, Nos. 1 and 2 Bellvue Place, are two-storeyed with brick walls and tiled roofs; they are of c. 1830.

(454) Cottages, Nos. 74 and 66, of three storeys with brick walls and slate-covered roofs, were built c. 1840. Similar intervening cottages (Nos. 68–72) have recently been demolished.

(455) Houses, pair, Nos. 62–4, are three-storeyed with rendered brick walls and slate-covered roofs. They were built c. 1840.

(456) House, No. 60, of three storeys with brick walls and a slate-covered roof, was built c. 1840.

(457) Cottages, four adjacent, Nos. 52–8, of two storeys with brick walls and slated roofs, were built c. 1840 and demolished in 1970.

(458) Houses, two adjacent, Nos. 42–4, demolished in 1970, were of 14th-century origin and originally were probably one house. Each house was two-storeyed with attics and had tile-hung timber-framed walls and a tiled roof; 18th-century street-fronts encompassed the attics and were three-storeyed. No. 44 had a N. wall of flint and stone with tile banding, and a 14th-century threebay crown-post rafter roof, ridged E.–W. The first floor, jettied on the W., rested on a moulded 15th-century beam. No. 42, of two bays at right-angles to those of No. 44 and thus parallel with Castle Street, included 15th or 16th-century material, but it had been extensively rebuilt in the 18th century.

For monuments in the S. part of Castle Street, on the E. side, see Blue Boar Chequer (p. 132) and White Horse Chequer (p. 142).