Huntingdon

49. HUNTINGDON (C.d.).

(O.S. 6 in. XVIII S.W.)

Huntingdon is a municipal Borough on the left bank of the River Ouse. The principal monuments are the parish churches of All Saints and St. Mary, the Castle, the Bridge, Hinchingbrooke House, the Grammar School, Walden House, Ferrar's House and Cowper House. Hinchingbrooke House was the residence of the Cromwells from 1538 to 1627 and afterwards of the Montagus, Earls of Sandwich. Under the celebrated Admiral, Edward the first Earl, Pepys often visited the house. Oliver Cromwell the Protector was born in Crom-well House (16), which has been since almost entirely re-built. Ferrar's House belonged to later generations of the Ferrars of Little Gidding.

Ecclesiastical

(1). Parish Church of All Saints (Plate 79) stands on the N.W. side of the Market Place. The walls, generally, are of rubble, but the E. part of the S. aisle is of ashlar and the tower is partly of brick; the dressings are of Ketton and Barnack stone. The roofs are covered with lead. The earliest part of the existing building is the W. bay of the N. arcade, which is of early 13th-century date and now forms a tower-arch. The Tower itself was built late in the 14th century, and late in the 15th or early in the succeeding century the rest of the church, including the Chancel, Nave, North and South Aisles and South Porch, was re-built. The nave and N. aisle were restored in 1859 and in 1861 the E. part of the S. aisle was re-built, largely with the old material. The North Vestry and Organ Chamber are modern.

Architectural Description—All the details are of late 15th- or early 16th-century date unless other-wise described. The Chancel (30½ ft. by 16½ ft.) has a moulded plinth and an embattled parapet; the parapet-string is carved with small bosses, including a rose, crown, fleur-de-lis, star, portcullis, crescent with manacles, molet, feathers, knot and a shield with the name R. Nowel, presumably that of the builder of the chancel. The partly restored E. window is of four cinque-foiled lights with tracery in a four-centred head with moulded reveals and crocketed label with finial and grotesque stops. In the N. wall is a modern arch to the organ-chamber and further E. a doorway with chamfered jambs and four-centred head. In the S. wall are three much restored windows, each of three cinque-foiled lights with vertical tracery in a four-centred head with moulded reveals and label similar to the E. window, but with returned stops; below the middle window are traces of the blocking of a former doorway; flanking it are the outlines of a parapet or breast-wall, cut back, which may possibly indicate the former existence of an outside pulpit. The chancel-arch is two-centred and of two orders, the outer double hollow-chamfered on the W. face, and continuous, and the inner moulded and springing from attached shafts with moulded capitals and bases; the inner order may be of 14th-century material re-used; the responds have been partly restored.

The Nave (50 ft. by 19¾ ft.) has a N. arcade of four bays, the three eastern have four-centred arches of two moulded orders with a moulded ogee label on the S. face, carried up to the string-course at the base of the clearstorey; the columns have each four attached shafts with moulded capitals and bases and the responds have attached half-columns; the westernmost bay is of early 13th-century date; the arch is two-centred and of two chamfered orders; it springs on the E. from a cylindrical column with a moulded capital, all partly engaged in the respond of the adjoining bay; the W. respond is chamfered, the inner order of the arch resting on a short shaft with a moulded and foliated capital and a moulded base, supported on a foliated corbel. The S. arcade is of four bays uniform with the three eastern bays of the N. arcade. The clearstorey has an embattled parapet with a carved gargoyle on the N. side. There are three restored windows on the N. and four on the S. side, each of three cinque-foiled lights in a four-centred head with a moulded label. In the W. wall is a restored window of five cinque-foiled lights with tracery in a four-centred head with a moulded label.

The North Aisle (11¾ ft. wide) has an embattled parapet; the buttresses have gabled and crocketed heads with defaced figures or beasts at the angles. In the N. wall are three windows, each of four trefoiled ogee lights with tracery in a segmental-pointed head with a moulded and crocketed label and carved beast-stops.

The South Aisle (12½ ft. wide) has an embattled parapet with carved bosses on the string-course; the buttresses have crocketed pinnacles and a niche with a gabled and crocketed head in the face of each. The two E. bays have been re-built, but with much of the old material re-used, and the fourth bay has been much restored; the two eastern bays are faced with ashlar. In the E. wall is a window, almost entirely modern, and of four cinque-foiled lights with vertical tracery in a two-centred head with a moulded label; the mullions are carried down below the sill, both inside and out, to form panels; on the inside the two middle panels are original and formed the reredos of an altar; they are each sub-divided into two cusped panels, enclosing a blank and mutilated shield supported by two mutilated angels; the side panels have sub-cusped heads with foliated spandrels partly original. In the S. wall are three windows, similar to that in the E. wall; the old work includes probably the head-stops of the labels and most of the panelling below the windows; each panel has a sub-cusped head with foliated points and spandrels; the partly restored S. doorway has moulded jambs, four-centred arch and label. In the W. wall is a window of four cinque-foiled lights with tracery in a four-centred head with moulded reveals and label.

The North West Tower (10¾ ft. by 9¾ ft.) was built over the W. bay of the N. aisle late in the 14th century and is of two stages with an embattled parapet and crocketed pinnacles at the angles, partly restored; the parapet-string has a series of mask-corbels. The walls are of brick and stone with stone dressings, except the upper part of the bell-chamber, which is faced with ashlar. In the E. wall of the ground-stage is a two-centred arch of two chamfered orders, the outer continuous and the inner springing from attached shafts with moulded capitals and chamfered bases. The upper storey of the ground-stage has a pointed opening in the E. wall. The bell-chamber has in each wall a window of two cinque-foiled lights with tracery in a two-centred head with moulded reveals and label.

The South Porch has an embattled parapet with two carved gargoyles. The two-centred outer archway is of two moulded orders, the outer continuous and the inner springing from attached shafts with moulded capitals and modern bases; the responds have been partly restored. In the middle of the parapet is a small niche with a moulded and carved bracket and a bowed and ribbed canopy. The side walls have each an internal recess with a four-centred head, containing a partly restored window of two cinque-foiled lights in a two-centred head with moulded reveals and label.

The Roof of the chancel is low-pitched and of three bays with moulded main timbers, and carved braces to the tie-beams; the timbers form panels, are carved on the soffit and have bosses at the intersections carved with a cross on a foliated background, a pelican 'in her piety,' the letters I H S and foliage; the wall-posts have carved figures of saints, but they are of doubtful antiquity. The roof has remains of colour but has been considerably restored. The roof of the nave is modern, but some of the carved figures supporting the wall-posts may be original; three early 16th-century wall-posts carved with figures, probably from the nave-roof, are retained in the modern vestry and four others (Plate 159) have been incorporated in the modern Library of the archdeaconry.

Fittings—Bells: four; 1st to 3rd by Newcombe, 1606, 4th by Tobias Norris, 1676. Font: In S. aisle—octagonal bowl, with remains of an arch on each face, springing from flat shafts at the angles, with remains of flat capitals, probably early 13th-century. Monument: In S. aisle—over S. door-way, to Alice (Greene) wife of Charles Weaver, 1636, alabaster wall-monument with kneeling figures of man and wife, two sons, three daughters and a baby, side pilasters supporting cornice with broken scrolled pediment, cartouche and three shields-of-arms. Niches: See Architectural Description under S. aisle and S. porch. Piscina: In chancel—with chamfered jambs, four-centred arch in a square head, shelf and quatre-foiled drain, early 16th-century. Stoup: In S. porch—in E. wall, recess with vaulted four-centred head, remains of bowl with moulded base, early 16th-century. Miscellanea: Incorporated in chancel-walls and loose in churchyard—numerous worked and moulded stones. Incorporated in tower-walls —stone with cross in round panel, perhaps a consecration cross, and stone with 12th-century cheveron ornament.

Condition—Good.

(2). Parish Church of St. Mary stands on the N.E. side of High Street, 250 yards N.W. of the Bridge. The walls generally are of freestone and rubble with Barnack-stone dressings but the walls of the N. aisle and the W. tower are of ashlar; inside the building the arches of the S. arcade of the nave are of clunch. The roofs are covered with tiles and lead. The remains of 12th-century buttresses at the N.E. and S.W. corners of the South Aisle are the earliest work extant, and suggest a Norman building of considerable size, but exactly how much of that structure is incorporated in the present church cannot definitely be stated. The present Chancel was built early in the 13th century, and the nave-arcades are of the same century. About 1380–90 the West Tower and the South Porch were added; the clearstorey was added to the nave about 1500. The fall of part of the W. tower in 1607 necessitated the rebuilding of the N. arcade of the nave and the North Aisle, besides the N.E. corner of the tower itself. Much of the old material was re-used in the rebuilding which was begun in 1608 and not completed until 1620. The church was restored in 1869, when the Vestry and Organ Chamber were added, and in 1876; further work was done to the W. tower and S. porch in 1913.

The church is of some architectural interest and the W. tower, although partly re-built, is a fine example of its period.

Architectural Description—The Chancel (32¾ ft. by 19¾ ft.) was originally three bays in length but has been shortened to two; the present eastern buttresses were part of the side walls of the destroyed E. bay. The walls of the chancel have been raised probably in the 15th century when the nave-clearstorey was added; on the parapet of the S. wall is carved a beast. In the E. wall are three modern windows. In the N. wall is an early 16th-century blocked doorway with a four-centred head and moulded label; further W. is an early 13th-century window of a single pointed light with shafted splays and an external moulded label, which is carried on small wall-shafts with moulded capitals and bases. In the S. wall is an early 13th-century doorway (Plate 82) with a two-centred head of two moulded orders and a label carved with 'dog-tooth' ornament and finishing in foliated spirals; the orders are carried on shafted jambs with carved capitals of 'stiff-leaf' foliage; the outer shafts are detached and have moulded bases; the two orders of the arch are not concentric; the splays have keeled edge-rolls; further W. are two late 15th-century windows, each of three cinque-foiled lights in a three-centred head with a moulded label; both windows have re-set shafted splays of 13th-century date similar to those of the window in the N. wall and both have been restored; below the first is a modern doorway. The late 13th-century chancel-arch is two-centred and of two chamfered orders, the outer continuous and the inner carried on semi-octagonal moulded corbels of early 17th-century date.

The Vestry is modern but re-set in the N. wall is a single-light 13th-century window with shafted jambs similar to the window in the N. wall of the chancel.

The Organ Chamber is modern but has, re-set in the N. wall, a partly restored late 13th-century window of two pointed lights under a two-centred head with a moulded label and mask-stops.

The Nave (59 ft. by 24 ft.) has a N. arcade of four bays with a narrow bay at the E. end formed by inserting a narrow modern arch in the E. respond. The main arcade was re-built early in the 17th century with re-used material from the former late 13th-century arcade; the arches are two-centred and of two chamfered orders with moulded labels and a foliated stop at the W. end of the N. side; the second and fourth piers are octagonal and the third pier is round and all have moulded capitals and 'hold-water' bases; the bases of the first three piers are much restored; the W. respond is stop-chamfered with a moulded impost carried round a semi-octagonal moulded corbel of early 17th-century date (see also Inscriptions under Fittings). The mid 13th-century S. arcade (Plate 81) is of four bays with a narrow bay at the E. end; this bay has a two-centred arch of two hollow-chamfered orders dying on to the E. wall and on the W. carried on the first pier of the arcade; this pier, of late 17th-century date (see Inscriptions), is octagonal with a moulded capital and chamfered base; the four westernmost arches are each two-centred and of two moulded orders with a moulded label towards the nave with foliated stops; the second pier is of four keel-shaped shafts with attached circular shafts at the angles, the third pier is round and the fourth octagonal; all have moulded capitals and 'hold-water' bases; the W. respond is stop-chamfered and has a much decayed foliated corbel from which rise three small detached shafts (Plate 132) with carved 'stiff-leaf' capitals carrying the inner order of the arch above. The late 15th-century clearstorey has on the N. side a range of four slightly restored windows each of three cinque-foiled lights with moulded jambs and splays and a four-centred head with a moulded label. On the S. side is a range of five windows, the first and fifth are each of two cinque-foiled lights with modern tracery and have internal hood-moulds with beast-head stops; these may be a little later than the remainder, which are each of three cinque-foiled lights under a four-centred head with a moulded label; the third and fourth windows are similar to those in the opposite wall but have had the cusping cut away and the second window has plain splays.

The North Transept (19¾ ft. by 11½ ft.) has a modern archway in the E. wall and in the N. wall a partly restored late 15th- or early 16th-century window, re-set early in the 17th century and of three cinque-foiled lights under a four-centred head with a moulded label and grotesque beast-stops.

The North Aisle (8¾ ft. wide) has in the N. wall two early 17th-century windows, each of three cinque-foiled lights in a four-centred head with a moulded label; both retain their old iron stanchions and saddle-bars and in the lower part of the middle light of the first window is an old casement; between the windows is a blocked doorway with chamfered jambs and two-centred head with a moulded label and defaced head-stops (see also Inscriptions).

The South Aisle (8½ ft. wide) has at the N. end of the E. wall a flat 12th-century buttress against which the present E. wall appears to have been built; below the top of the buttress on the E. face is a shaped stop which suggests the remains of a corbel-table to a former chancel. In the E. wall is a 15th-century window of three cinque-foiled lights with vertical tracery in a four-centred head; it is entirely modern externally but the splays are original and have on each side a projecting octagonal bracket with a moulded shelf supported by corbels carved with mutilated half-angels holding blank shields. In the S. wall are four modern windows; the late 14th-century S. doorway has shafted jambs with moulded capitals and bases and a two-centred head of two moulded orders separated by a casement-moulding in which are carved foliated bosses; above the apex is a small semi-octagonal bracket supported on a corbel in the form of an ogee trefoil-headed niche with imitation ribs carved on the soffit. In the W. wall is a blocked window with a four-centred head, probably of the 15th century; the jambs were carried down subsequently to form a door-way and the whole afterwards filled in. The S.W. angle has a low clasping buttress of ashlar of the 12th century, and there are the lower stones of another flat buttress of the same date at the end of the wall against the tower.

The West Tower (18 ft. by 17¾ ft.) is of late 14th-century date with the E. part of the N. wall and the upper part of the E. wall re-built. It is in three stages (Plate 80) with a much worn moulded plinth and an embattled parapet; at the angles are elaborate buttresses terminating in crocketed pinnacles. The tower-arch is modern; in the internal E. angles of the ground-stage are the remains of vaulting-shafts, but it is unlikely that the vault was ever constructed; the N. wall was divided externally by small pinnacled buttresses into a middle bay with a crocketed gable and half bays on either side, but only the western half of this feature is now complete. The W. doorway (Plate 81) has shafted jambs with moulded capitals and decayed bases and a two-centred arch of two moulded orders with a moulded and crocketed label carried up in ogee form to a carved finial on the string - course below the window; the tympanum is carved with a lily-pot and in the spandrels are quatrefoils with foliated cusp-points and trefoiled panels; the doorway is flanked on either side by a semi-hexagonal niche set between small pinnacled buttresses and having a semi-hexagonal projecting bracket with a moulded shelf supported on much perished corbels; each niche has a projecting trefoiled ogee head, cusped and ribbed on the underside and terminating in a crocketed and finialed gable. The second stage has in the W. wall a partly restored window of three cinque-foiled ogee lights with vertical tracery in a two-centred head with a moulded label and grotesque stops. The bell-chamber is divided from the second stage on the S. and E. sides by a plain band and on the N. and W. by a band of quatrefoil panels; the interior has been largely refaced with modern brick and the exterior of the E. wall with modern stone which blocks the former E. window. In each of the other walls are coupled windows, each of two lights, now round-headed, with tracery in a two-centred head with a moulded label and carved stops. The parapet has a moulded string-course with carved bosses on the S. and W. faces, and above this on the W. and at the W. end of the N. side is a range of quatre-foiled panels with a band of running enrichment above; on the middle merlon of the parapet on the S. and W. sides and on the W. merlon on the N. side is a small niche with a projecting ogee crocketed head and a moulded bracket resting on a corbel, carved on the N. side with a lion's head and on the W. side with a man's head making a grimace; some pieces of panelling are built into the inner faces of the parapet. The W. buttresses are each of three gabled stages surmounted by crocketed pinnacles; the two lowest stages are set square to the tower-walls and the third stage is diagonal; above the roofs of the nave and aisles the E. buttresses are of similar form to the W. buttresses, but are plain where the latter are panelled; the first stage of each buttress has a subsidiary buttress projecting from it with a niche in the upper part having a cusped and crocketed ogee head and a crocketed and finialed gable; the carved subjects on the corbels below the brackets to the niches include the following, a pelican ' in her piety,' a man's head with leaves issuing from his mouth, two rams feeding, and two winged monsters; both the second and third stages of the W. buttresses are panelled but much of the carved ornament is greatly decayed.

The South Porch (10¾ ft. by 10¼ ft.) is of late 14th-century date; it has a parapet with a moulded coping and a low-pitched embattled gable which formerly had pinnacles at the angles. The two-centred outer archway is of two moulded orders with a moulded label; the shafted jambs have moulded capitals and bases partly covered by steps. In each of the side walls is a window of two cinque-foiled lights in a four-centred head with moulded jambs and splays. The angles of the porch are shafted and originally had niches in the upper part with brackets and canopied ogee heads, but the brackets are now missing and the heads are much damaged. On the string-course below the parapet to the W. wall is carved a grotesque head and on the middle of the parapet above the archway is a small shaft.

The Roofs are all modern, except that of the bell-chamber of the W. tower which has a heavy cambered tie-beam, strengthened by braces.

Fittings—Brass Indent: In S. aisle—fragment with indents of two symbols. Chairs: In chancel— two, of walnut with twisted uprights, legs and rails, carved backs and rails and crown supported by cherubs, late 17th-century, partly repaired. Chests: under tower—(1) of oak, plain hutch-type with iron lock, staple, hinges and bands; (2) of oak, hutch-type (Plate 146) with three panels in front with diamond-shaped enrichments, carved (acanthus) rail and stiles with guilloche, iron band, hinges and one staple, early 17th-century. Coffins: In churchyard—W. of N. aisle, two with shaped heads, one broken. Font: octagonal, with marble bowl patched in two places, set on central stem and eight circular shafts with moulded capitals, common abaci and 'hold-water' bases, the last perhaps restored, mid 13th-century. Inscriptions: In nave—on E. wall N. of chancel-arch in re-set rectangular panel "R. CROMWEL I. TVRPIN BAILIEFS 1609"; on N. arcade of nave, on second pier, on E. face of bottom stone, "ROBERT LAW VICAR 1608," and on stone above, "RICHARD TRYCE"; on third pier, on bell of capital, "THOMAS HODSONE"; on fourth pier, on S.E. face just below the capital, "ROBERT LAMBE," and on the S.W. face, "AN LAMB"; on springer above pier "ANES ABOT"; on W. respond on either side of corbel, "WI" and "RK." On S. arcade, above first pier, in sunk panel with moulding above, "John Bardolph Job Bradshaw Churchwardens 1698." On N. wall of N. aisle, above doorway in a sunk panel, "NOVAE . STRVCTVRAE ROBERTVS . LAW . VICARIVS . NONO DIE . MARTII . FUNDAMENTA LOCAVIT ANNO 1608"; on parapet above doorway, "PERFECIT 1620." On W. tower, on N. wall, above window to bell-chamber, in panel the date "1613"; on parapet, in small panel, "R.H."; on W. wall, on panel on second stage of S. buttress "W.I. T.D. CHVRCH-WARDNS 1672," and an incised mark and the date "1672." Monuments and Floor-slabs. Monuments: In W. tower—on N. wall (1) to Sir Nicholas Pedley, 1685, marble tablet with cornice, urn, cherub-heads and shield-of-arms; on S. wall, (2) to John Lovesey, 1707, scrolled freestone tablet with cherub-heads and inscribed black marble cartouche. In churchyard (3) to Elizabeth, wife of John Coles, 1706–7. Floor-slabs: In S. aisle— (1) to Robert Sayer, 1670; (2) apparently part of incised base of cross and marginal band. Piscina: In S. aisle—in S. wall, with chamfered jambs and trefoiled four-centred head, sunk spandrels and quatre-foiled drain repaired in front, 15th-century. Plate: includes a cup of 1569 with a cover-paten of 1624 with the initials S. and M. P., three plates of 1684, each inscribed with an achievement-of-arms, and an early 17th-century cup and cover-paten, both without date-marks, but with the cup inscribed "Sant Benet Pereshe" and the paten inscribed "S.B." Scratchings: In nave—on N. arcade, various masons' marks. In N. aisle—on splay of N.E. window, the name N.(?) Huchen, date 1618, etc. On W. face of tower—large incised drawing of bell (Plate 81) with two round canons, 14th-century.

Condition—Good.

(3). St. Benedict's Churchyard, on the S.W. side of the High Street, 470 yards N.W. of the Bridge has an old stone wall round the N.W. and S.W. sides. Stones from this church are said to have been re-used in the Barley Mow Inn at Hartford. Against the S.W. wall is a head-stone to Thomas Jeay, 1711, and Mary his daughter.

(4). St. John the Baptist's Churchyard, on the W. side of the High Street, 200 yards N.W. of Market Hill, has the front or N.E. wall built of old re-used stone and some brickwork, and it probably dates from the destruction of the church in the 17th century.

(5). Augustinian Priory of St. Mary stood partly on the site of the modern cemetery on the E. side of the town. Stone coffins have been found on the site, one of which is now at Hinchingbrooke. By the modern lodge of the cemetery is a large piece of 13th-century wall-arcading.

Secular

(6). The Castle (Plate 83), mount and bailey, on the N. bank of the river just W. of the Bridge. The earthworks consist of a roughly oval motte with a half moon-shaped inner bailey of 2½ acres on the E. and a large outer bailey on the W. The motte is 90 yards in diameter at the base, 40 yards in diameter at the top and rises 12 ft. above the lower part of the inner bailey; it has been, apparently, considerably denuded. A causeway connects the E. side of the motte to the inner bailey, and both motte and inner bailey have their own ditches. The entrance to the inner bailey is on the E. with strongly marked ramparts at the N.E. and S.E. angles. The outer bailey is without ditch or rampart, but its limits on the N., S. and W. are indicated by a scarp.

Condition—Fair, the works having been much cut into during the construction of the railway, which runs through the S. ends of the motte and inner bailey and through the middle of the outer bailey.

(7). Homestead Moat, on the W. side of Ermine Street, 1,300 yards N.W. of All Saints church.

(8). Huntingdon Bridge (Plate 83), crosses the Ouse at the S.E. end of the town and is of six spans faced with rough ashlar. It was built c. 1300, the former bridge having been partly washed away by an ice flood in the winter of 1293–4. Collections were made in the churches for its repair in 1296. The new bridge was built, apparently, by two authorities whose work joined over the third pier from the N.; this pier and all to the S. of it have semi-hexagonal refuges, the actual cut-water being finished with a tabled top; the piers to the N. have the cut-waters carried vertically up to form triangular refuges. The fourth arch appears to have been destroyed and subsequently re-built; this was perhaps done during the Civil War. There was formerly a chapel of St. Thomas of Canterbury in connection with the bridge, but of this there are now no remains.

The bridge is an excellent example of the period.

The N. arch is segmental-pointed with a chamfered rib on each face; there are indications on the soffit of the arch that it incorporates an earlier arch which was widened c. 1300 on both sides; there is a string-course over the crown of the arch and round the first cut-water. The second arch is much higher and of two plain orders with a label on the W. face (Plate 131); the same face has also a corbel-table of trefoiled arches on ogee-shaped corbels and supporting the parapet; the E. face of the arch is plain; the third arch is similar to the second with a corbel-table below the parapet on the W. side, but the inner order of the arch is chamfered; the fourth arch is segmental-pointed and of two orders, the outer plain and the inner with a broad chamfer; the moulded label on the W. face only is similar to that of the second and third arches; on the E. face is a stone waterchute above the crown of the arch. The filling above the fourth arch does not bond with the cut-waters and the whole has been re-built. The fifth arch is similar in detail to the fourth, but narrower, and has a stone water-chute above the crown of the label on the W. face. The S. arch is segmental and similar in detail to the fifth. There is a line in the masonry over the fourth, fifth and sixth arches, which may indicate a rebuilding of the upper part and the W. parapet was re-built in 1925.

Condition—Good.

(9). The Nuns' Bridge (Plate 131), crossing the Alconbury Brook at S.W. boundary of Hinchingbrooke Park, about 350 yards S.S.W. of Hinchingbrooke House, is built of stone and brick. The original bridge, of which three spans remain on the E., is of the 15th or 16th century and of stone with stone cut-waters on the S. face. The bridge was repaired in brick in the 17th century and largely reconstructed in the 18th century. At the latter period it was widened on the N. side and the four western arches either added or re-built; the fifth arch from the E. has been refaced in modern times. The first and third arches are each of two chamfered orders on the S. face; the second arch is similar but of wider span and of slightly distorted segmental form; the cut-waters have been repaired in brick and one stone of the first cut-water is inscribed "I.W. 1763," no doubt the date of a repair. The filling above the arches is of rubble with some ashlar; the lower part of the parapet over the first arch is of 17th-century brick, but the main parapet of the whole bridge is of 18th-century brick.

Condition—Good.

(10). Hinchingbrooke, house (Plate 84), gateway and outbuildings, ¾ m. W.S.W. of All Saints' Church. The House is generally of two storeys, but some parts have an attic-storey in addition, and the S.W. tower and W. range are of three storeys. The walls are of stone and brick and the roofs are covered with tiles and lead.

The Benedictine nunnery of Hinchingbrooke is said to have been moved here from Eltisley in the time of William I. It was a small house and was finally suppressed in 1536. The site was granted in 1538 to Sir Richard Williams, alias Cromwell, and either he or his son transformed and mainly re-built the nunnery-buildings as a house. The alterations were so extensive that it is difficult to determine precisely how much of the old building was retained. It would appear, however, that the general plan was not altered to any great extent; the former Frater became the Great Hall and the priory church, perhaps shortened, is probably represented by the present Library; this is indicated by the rubble W. wall of the building which is probably mediæval. The E. and W. ranges were much altered but the projection of the former chapter-house is perhaps retained in the existing Billiard Room. The cloister was retained as a central courtyard but was partly built over on the S. side. Two ranges of outbuildings, the gatehouse and boundary walls were all erected at this period, mainly of re-used material brought from elsewhere. It is not unlikely that in the gatehouse are to be found the missing parts of the still partly existing gatehouse of Ramsey Abbey; the details are the same and it is certain that a poor house, such as Hinchingbrooke Priory, could not have erected so ambitious a structure. The elaborate bay-windows on the N. front of the house are of the same date and workmanship as the gatehouse and may well be of the same provenance. In 1602 a large bay-window and loggia was added on the E. front of the house and a porch to the Great Hall, now destroyed, was perhaps of the same date. In 1627 Sir Oliver Cromwell sold the house to Sir Sidney Montagu, ancestor of the present owner, the Earl of Sandwich. The kitchen range, N.W. of the house, was raised and altered during the 17th century. Shortly after the Restoration, Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, added two storeys to the W. range of the house, built or re-built the great staircase and added a small wing on the N.W. The house was extensively damaged by fire in 1830, when the great staircase was destroyed. The consequent restoration, under Mr. E. Blore, included the practical reconstruction of the Great Hall on the N. side, the refacing of parts of the E. and S. fronts, the moving of the large bay of 1602 from the E. front to the S. front and the demolition of a gabled bay towards the western end of the library. Extensive additions were made on the N.W. side in 1894. The roofing in of the courtyard to form an inner hall was carried out in 1909.

The House contains interesting detail of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries and the Gatehouse is a handsome example of late 15th- or early 16th-century work.

Elevations—The North Front (Plate 86) consists of three main sections, the westernmost being modern and the other two of mid 16th-century date and faced with ashlar. The easternmost section is flanked by buttresses and has a two storeyed bay-window of late 15th- or early 16th-century material re-set; it has a plinth and a restored embattled parapet with a frieze of quatrefoils and upright panels, the former enclosing portcullises and roses, mainly restored; the cornice below the frieze has bosses carved with roses, portcullises, falcons rising, and a badge of a piece of armour with two foliage-sprigs (? Gromwell); the upper storey of the bay has a window of five four-centred and transomed lights on the face and a window of two similar lights on the returns; below the sill is a second cornice carved with similar badges to those above and with a fleur-de-lis, a sprig of foliage and bosses of foliage; this cornice is continued along the wall to the E.; between the windows of the bay are large panels with cusped and sub-cusped borders containing (a) a shield of arms in Roman cement of Cromwell impaling Cromwell of Surrey; (b) crowned portcullis in Roman cement, defaced shield with a crown and two supporting angels, the large initials E.R. and a defaced badge with a crown; (c) modern shield of Montagu [formerly Cromwell and Murfine]; the windows of the ground-storey are similar to those above, but have no transoms; the plinth has a band of sub-cusped quatrefoils. The gable of this section of the front is modern, but at the base of the gable is a moulded string-course with badges as on the bay-window, and in the middle is a partly restored panel with a cusped border having the points carved with portcullises and roses and in the middle a defaced badge, apparently a rayed rose; the moulded label has square scrolled stops. The cresting of the former gable is now set over a garden-doorway E. of the gatehouse. The middle section of the front has a bay-window of similar general character to that in the E. bay, but with transomed windows to the ground-floor and not to the first floor; the string-courses and panelling have badges similar to those on the E. bay-window; the large panels have carvings as follows—(a) shield bearing a defaced coat [Cromwell] impaling Warren and a second defaced shield; (b) crowned Tudor rose with foliage and rose-sprigs, flanked by two defaced shields, each with a crown; (c) two defaced shields [formerly Cromwell impaling Welsh Kings]. W. of this bay-window is a modern porch and entrance; the former entrance, now replaced by a window, was in the W. bay; it was covered by a porch, now removed, for which a window and doorway in the adjoining kitchen-range were blocked and the label of the doorway cut back.

The E. Front is in three divisions, of which the northernmost is faced with modern ashlar and has no ancient features; the other two are of mid 16th-century red brick with some diapering in black brick and have late 18th-century windows of pseudo-Gothic form. The middle division had formerly a large projecting bay-window, but this has been removed and the opening built up flush with the rest of the wall; the return wall to the N. has a parapet string-course of re-used stone-work with the date 1531, in Arabic numerals, upon it. The S. division forming the end of the library has a large projecting bay-window of two storeys.

The South Front of the Library has no ancient features and is faced with modern ashlar. Set against it is the large semi-circular bay (Plate 85) of 1602 removed here from the E. front of the house in 1830. It originally had a greater projection and two bays of arcading are missing. The building is of ashlar and of two storeys; the ground-storey, originally an open loggia, has a range of five openings, now fitted with windows, and having round arches in square heads with moulded archivolts and imposts and key-blocks carved as medallions; the medallions bear carved badges or crests and the spandrels have shields-of-arms. The heraldry is that of Sir Henry Cromwell and Joan Warren his wife. Above the arches is a moulded cornice and in the middle, above the cornice, is an enriched tablet with a quartered achievement of the arms of Cromwell, flanked by terminal pilasters supporting an entablature. In the corresponding positions on the E. and W. sides are panels with cartouches-of-arms of Cromwell and Warren. The upper storey of the bay has a range of five square-headed windows, each of two lights with moulded stone frame, mullion and transom. The bay is finished with an entablature, balustrade and cresting; the frieze of the entablature has the inscription "Anno Domini 1602" and the initials o.c. and E.O.C. of Sir Oliver Cromwell and his wife, presumably added later; the balustrade has alternate panels of pierced strapwork and moulded balusters; it is surmounted by four obelisks, two strapwork compositions and a large achievement of the arms of Queen Elizabeth.

The W. return wall of the Library is of rubble with a modern chimney-stack blocking a 16th-century square-headed window on the first floor; there are traces of a second window below it; these windows appear to have been inserted in the rubble-walling as they are surrounded by brick patching of the same date; the rubble wall is therefore probably of mediæval date. The S. front between the library and the S.W. Tower is of rough ashlar, probably material re-used c. 1540, and has a mid 16th-century brick parapet with black brick diapering. The lower window is modern and the upper window has been altered, except for the moulded brick label of the square head; the doorway is modern, but incorporates a 13th-century moulded arch and foliated capitals and moulded bases to the modern side shafts.

The S.W. Tower (Plate 84) is of three storeys faced with re-used ashlar and with a mid 16th-century embattled parapet of brick with black brick diapering. The doorways and windows are all of 18th-century or modern date. There is a projecting two-storeyed porch on the W. face, of 16th-century date, but with no ancient external features. The tower has two late 17th-century lead rainwater-heads.

The W. Front, N. of the tower, is of three storeys, the lowest of stone and of 16th-century date and the two upper of brick, added in the second half of the 17th century; the upper part has a brick band between the storeys and windows of 17th-century form, but fitted with modern frames. In the angle between the main block and the N.W. wing is a large stone chimney-breast, possibly mediæval. The N.W. wing is of the second half of the 17th century and of three storeys; the walls are of brick and the building is of similar character to the upper part of the main W. front. The wing has modern additions on three sides. The chimney-stacks of the house are all modern, except one over the E. range which is of mid 16th-century date and has two octagonal brick shafts with moulded capitals and bases; another stack, between the E. range and the library-wing has a 16th-century base and a modern shaft.

The Kitchen Range extends to the N.W. of the main block, and is of mid 16th-century date, raised and altered in the 17th century. It was originally of one storey and of red brick with black brick diapering on the E. front; the added storey on this side is of re-used ashlar, with an embattled brick parapet which partly masks the ends of six gables; there were originally two more gables, but these were probably destroyed by the fire of 1830. Near the middle of the range, on the E. front (Plate 88), are four recesses with four-centred heads, divided and flanked by buttresses; the northern recess has a 16th-century window of three four-centred lights in a square head with a moulded label; the second recess has a stone doorway, of the same date, with moulded jambs and four-centred arch in a square head; it is now blocked; above it is a window of two four-centred lights; the third recess has a window of one small four-centred light. The ground-floor of the range, N. of the recesses, has three 16th-century windows, each of three square-headed lights, with a moulded label. S. of the recesses is a window similar to that in the N. recess; further S. are a two-light window and a doorway with a four-centred head, both blocked when the porch was added to the Hall. The 17th-century upper storey has in the N. half a range of six windows, each of three square-headed lights with a moulded label; all have been much altered; near the S. end of the range is a window of similar form, but with moulded oak frame and mullions. Near this window is a 17th-century rainwater-head and pipe with floral enrichments; the head has the Montagu crest and the straps the arms of Montagu and Monthermer. The N. end of the range has black brick diapering to the lower storey and a blocked 16th-century doorway. The W. front (Plate 89) of the range is a patchwork of brick and re-used ashlar; the original arrangement had two large stone chimney-stacks, near the middle, but these were out of use when the range of six timbered gables was added in the 17th century. None of the openings are original, except a blocked two-light window near the S. end with stone corbelling above it. A small annexe on this side is probably of the 17th century.

Interior—The interior of the house was much altered after the fire of 1830, but retains some old features. The great staircase is modern, but the compartment to the E. of it has a wooden cornice with enriched modillions, partly of late 17th-century date; the dado (Plate 119) on the E., W. and S. walls under the stairs is of the same date and has scrolled acanthus carving with rosettes and the initials E.S. and E.S.I. under coronets, for Edward, 1st Earl of Sandwich and Jemima his wife; there are also two panels with cartouches of the arms of Montagu and Monthermer; the bays are divided by pilasters with bay-leaf pendants and vases of flowers on the top. The late 17th-century door-case of the door-way opening into the library has an enriched architrave flanked by pilasters with fruit and floral pendants; consoles at the top support a broken pediment with an enriched palm-leaf panel in the middle and a cartouche above. The whole of this work, with the destroyed staircase, was carried out, according to Pepys, by Mr. Kennard, the King's master-joiner. Below the staircase, near the S. wall, two stone coffins have been found; these would indicate burials in the S. walk of the Priory cloister.

The Library has two doorways in the N. wall, both with carved overdoors consisting of two scrolls with swags, supporting a curved and enriched pediment with pendants of foliage and flowers below and medallions carved with draped heads of a man and a woman respectively; the doors themselves are modern, but incorporate early 16th-century linen-fold and richly carved panels (Plate 119), including vase and eagle panels, and figure-subjects of an ostrich hunt and a boar hunt, both foreign. The modern fireplace at the W. end incorporates a gadrooned frieze with the date 1580 and an overmantel of the same period richly carved and flanked by terminal pilasters supporting an entablature with a carved frieze and the date 1580; the enriched panel in the middle now contains a painting of Jemima, Countess of Sandwich. The bookcases incorporate carved frieze-panels, etc., of the 16th century and probably foreign. The room on the ground-floor of the S.W. tower has 16th-century moulded ceiling-beams dividing the ceiling into nine square panels. There is an unusually thick wall between the Library and the Billiard Room and in its W. end is contrived a narrow cupboard; it is not unlikely that this cupboard represents the lower end of the night-staircase from the nuns' dorter, which would have occupied the upper storey of the eastern range; this would also account for the thickness of the wall.

On the first floor at the head of the main staircase, is a doorway probably of the 16th century, with splayed jambs and square moulded head. Near the E. end of the thick wall, referred to above, is a doorway, the N. part of the head of which is formed by a two-centred arch of three chamfered orders; the work is rough in execution, but may be mediæval; the small portion exposed is not sufficient to explain its origin or purpose. The top room in the S.W. tower has 16th-century cambered tie-beams with curved braces resting on wood corbels formed of lengths of a moulded beam, cut off.

The Kitchen wing has a late 17th-century great fireplace and two doorways, of the same date, opposite, one with a semi-circular fan-light.

The Bake and Brewhouse range stands to the N.W. of the main building. It is of two storeys, the lower of stone and probably of 16th-century date, and the upper of modern brick, re-built in 1894. The N.W. side is divided into four bays by stone buttresses, but otherwise there are no ancient features.

The Gatehouse (Plate 87) stands N.E. of the house. It is entirely of stone, the structure being of re-used ashlar, and the archways and enrichments brought from elsewhere and re-erected. As it stands, it was no doubt built about the middle of the 16th century, but the archways, etc., are of late 15th- or early 16th-century date and correspond closely in detail to the two bay-windows on the N. front of the house and to the surviving portions of the abbey gatehouse at Ramsey. The original gate-house was of two storeys with projecting eaves on three sides and a series of five timbered gables on each main face; it was reduced to its present dimensions late in the 18th or early in the 19th century. The N.E. front has a main archway with moulded and splayed responds and a moulded two-centred arch, the inner order of which springs from moulded corbels; the moulded label has carved paterae, crockets and a large finial. A horizontal string-course, also with carved paterae, forms a square head above the archway, the spandrels being filled with elaborate sub-cusped tracery. Flanking the arch the embattled pedestals standing on short shafts with corbel terminations, carved with foliage; the pedestals support large figures of 'woodmen,' each holding a tall club. Above the string-course, or head of the archway, is a frieze of sub-cusped quatrefoils and a cornice carved with large paterae; the middle part of the frieze is canted outwards to support an oriel window, now removed. Flanking the main archway are doorways, of which the western is modern; the eastern doorway has moulded and splayed jambs and moulded two-centred arch, with a moulded label, carved with paterae; in it is a battened door with plain strap-hinges and a simple iron knocker, dated 1600. The S.W. front has one large archway of similar design, detail and ornament to the main archway of the N.E. front, but the arch itself is of segmental-pointed form. The gatehouse is finished with a modern embattled parapet. The gate-hall has a small chamber on the N.W. side; in the dividing wall is a doorway with moulded jambs and a three-centred head; next to the doorway is a blocked opening with an incomplete arch of brick, abutting on to the doorway. There is an oak bench on both sides of the gate-hall and between the main and the foot-way is an oak balustrade of late 16th-century date with heavy turned balusters, moulded rail and square newel with a ball-terminal; there is a similar balustrade set against the S.E. wall.

The Garden N.E. of the house has a 16th-century wall on the N. side, mainly built of re-used ashlar, including numerous moulded stones; towards the E. end of the wall is a doorway made up of re-used stonework and having a moulded 13th-century arch, side shafts with one 12th- and a 13th-century carved capital; above the door is a frieze with plain triglyphs and a pediment with a round ornament in the tympanum; this feature was formerly on the E. gable of the N. front of the house. On the inside face, the same doorway has a 13th-century moulded arch springing from one early and one late 12th-century capital; in the wall above and at the sides are a number of carved stones, quatre-foiled panelling, head-corbels, etc. The door is made up of old materials. In the garden near the wall is an effigy and two stone coffins; the effigy, now broken, is of a man in mail-armour of early 13th-century date, with pothelmet, surcoat and long heater-shaped shield; head loose and part below thighs missing; one coffin is complete and was found on the site of Huntingdon Priory; the other is broken and was that of a child; it has a curved shelf for the head, of unusual form.

The Terrace-wall, towards the road, is old and of re-used stonework in its northern part. The southern part and the parapet is of the 18th century.

Condition—Good.

(11). The Town Hall stands on the S.E. side of Market Hill in the middle of the town. The present building was erected in 1745 on the site of the old Court House and was added to and altered in 1817. It contains a late 17th-century staircase, which was probably retained from the old Court House. This rises from the ground to the first floor, and has moulded strings and hand-rail, turned balusters and square newels.

Condition—Good.

(12). Huntingdon Grammar School (Plate 90). The old Hall of St. John's Hospital stands opposite and E. of All Saints' Church. The walls are of stone and the roofs are tiled. The Hospital of St. John is said to have been founded temp. Henry II by David Earl of Huntingdon. The surviving building is of that date, c. 1160, and was the western end of the Hall of the hospital. It had from the beginning an aisle on the S. side, but the N. aisle was added and the N. arcade built at the end of the 12th century. Probably in the 16th or early in the 17th century the Hall with its aisles was destroyed except for the two W. bays of the body of the building and a blocking wall built at the E. end; in this wall was re-set an arch of c. 1300. During the 17th century the front was cased with red brick and finished with a Dutch gable. The building was restored in 1863 and again in 1878, when the brick casing of the front was removed and the front re-built; it has long been used by the school.

The building is of interest as being part of the Hall of a mediæval hospital.

The West Front is faced with ashlar, partly original. The doorway, now blocked, is original but is said to have been raised; it has a round arch of three orders, the inner plain and the two outer enriched with cheveron ornament; the label, partly restored, has 'arcaded' enrichment; the jambs have each two free shafts with scalloped capitals, moulded bases and chamfered abaci with lozenge-ornament on the face and on the chamfer. Further N. is a round-headed window with roll and cheveron-ornament to the reveals. Above the doorway and window is a string-course with billet-ornament, mostly modern, and above it is a wall-arcade of five bays, pierced by two windows and almost entirely modern except perhaps for some of the voussoirs, which are carved with simple conventional foliage. The gable has a modern vesica-shaped window and a modern bell-cote with a small bell.

The N. arcade is of c. 1190 and has two-centred arches of two plain orders, the outer entirely modern; the cylindrical columns have moulded 'hold-water' bases, square plinths, bell-capitals and square chamfered abaci; the capital of the W. pier is carved with simple conventional leaves; the plain W. respond has a modern impost.

The S. arcade is of c. 1160 and has round arches of two plain orders except the outer order of the E. arch on the N. face, which has cheveron-ornament; the inner order is modern; the cylindrical columns have scalloped capitals, moulded abaci and bases and square plinths; the plain W. respond has a modern impost.

The E. wall is mostly faced with re-used 12th-century ashlar; the doorway has moulded jambs and segmental-pointed head of re-used 12th-century material; further S. is a modern window set in a recess formed by a re-set arch of c. 1300; the arch is of three chamfered orders, the outer continuous, the middle order dying on to the respond and the inner resting on attached shafts with moulded capitals and chamfered bases.

Condition—Good.

(13). Walden House (Plate 91), now used as County Council Offices, on the W. side of Market Hill, immediately S.W. of All Saints' Church, is of two storeys with attics and basement. It is built of brick with stone dressings and the roofs are tiled. The house is probably of late 17th-century date and is symmetrically designed on a rectangular plan; a modern extension has been added at the back.

The front or N.E. elevation is in five bays with a projecting Ionic pilaster at each end and has a moulded stone plinth and a modillioned eaves-cornice. The central doorway is a later addition, but the two windows on either side are square-headed and have moulded and eared architraves and moulded sills. The five windows to the first floor are similar and below each is a stone apron with a carved swag. The roof is hipped and has three flat-topped dormers and, lighting the basement, are square-headed windows with rubbedbrick arches. The two chimney-stacks which appear behind the ridge each have a recessed round-headed panel on the front face with plain projecting impost and key-blocks. The back elevation has a plinth, a flat projecting band of brick at the first-floor level which drops down to a lower level at either end and a moulded eaves-cornice of wood. The old windows on the first floor have been replaced by large modern windows, but on the ground-floor, on either side of the modern porch, the original windows remain, each square-headed and with a moulded brick cornice and pediment. The window-frames and sashes on both fronts are modern. Inside the building the S.E. room on the ground-floor is lined with bolection-moulded panelling and the fireplace is flanked by Doric pilasters supporting an entablature with a pulvinated frieze; over the fireplace is a moulded panel. The S.W. room is lined with re-used late 16th-century panelling, but has a moulded cornice of the date of the house; over the fireplace is a late 17th-century moulded shelf. Two rooms on the first floor have original moulded cornices and one room in the attics has a late 16th-century door of six panels. The staircase rises round a well from the ground-floor to the attics, with three flights between each floor; it has moulded strings and handrails, turned balusters and square newels, panelled and surmounted by moulded finials with 'acorn' tops.

Condition—Good.

(14). Falcon Hotel, on the W. side of Market Hill, S.S.E. of (13) is of two storeys, partly timber-framed and plastered and partly of brick; the roofs are tiled. The house was built late in the 16th century but has been much altered, the front block having been re-built as a separate building now used as a club. The carriage-way at the S. end of the front has posts and lintels of oak; those in front with simply carved brackets to the lintel and to the former overhang. The doors are of two folds with small moulded panels and in the right fold is a wicket. The carriage-way has a chamfered beam in the ceiling and exposed joists, and against the S. wall is a recess in brick, arched over and with moulded corbelling supporting a chimney above. In the back wing, flanking the yard, is a window of c. 1700 with original double-hung sashes. Inside the building, the Billiard Room is lined with original panelling and has a moulded ceiling-beam with geometrical decoration on the soffit; the fireplace is of early 18th-century date and has a heavy moulded architrave and cornice. Another room, the present Bar, has a chamfered ceiling-beam. Upstairs, the E. room of the back range has a plaster ceiling of pointed barrel-form.

Condition—Good.

(15). House, 15 yards S.S.E. of (14) is of two storeys with attics; the front has been refaced with brick and the roofs are tiled. The whole building has been considerably altered but retains a late 17th-century staircase rising round a small well from the ground-floor to the attics, with moulded strings and hand-rails, turned balusters and square newels.

Condition—Good, much altered.

(16). Cromwell House, on E. side of High Street, 250 yards N.N.W. of All Saints' Church, is of two storeys; it is built of stone and brick, and the roofs are covered with slate. It stands on the site of the house of Austin Friars which was founded about the year 1285. At the Dissolution it was granted to the Cromwell family and Oliver Cromwell was born here. The church and other buildings of the Friary were probably destroyed soon after the Dissolution, but one range, probably the western range of the cloister-block, was retained as a house. The house was almost entirely re-built at the beginning of the 19th century when the present N. block was added. The front part of the existing house stands on the foundations of a stone-built range running N. and S., and probably represents the W. range of the Friary buildings. In the E. wall the base of two 13th- or early 14th-century doorways were discovered in 1913. This range extended S. of the existing house and the S.W. angle of this continuation is still standing; this wall is of brick with stone quoins, and may be of the 16th or 17th century. Re-used in the S. part of the house are some elaborately moulded 14th-century roof-timbers, and in the garden are numerous moulded stones of various dates but not all native to the site.

Condition—Practically re-built.

(17). House and shop, on the E. side of High Street, 120 yards S.E. of (16), is of two storeys with attics. It is partly of plastered timber-framing and partly of brick; the roofs are tiled. It was built probably in the 17th century but refaced and re-roofed with a mansard roof in the 18th century. The cartway at the S. end has exposed beams and joists.

Condition—Good.

(18). House and shop, on the E. side of High Street, 60 yards S.E. of (17), is of two storeys with cellars; it is timber-framed and plastered and the roofs are tiled. The front block is of 18th-century date, but the back wing, which runs at right angles to it, was built in the first half of the 17th century and has modern additions at the E. end. The central chimney-stack to the 17th-century wing has four shafts set crossways on a rectangular base with a moulded capping; the tops of the shafts are modern. Inside the building, the two ground-floor rooms each have a chamfered ceiling-beam, one of which is supported on a shaped wall-bracket at one end.

Condition—Good.

(19). Ferrar's House (Plate 93), on the W. side of the High Street, immediately N. of St. John the Baptist's churchyard, is of two storeys with attics. The walls are of brick and the roofs are tiled. The front part of the house was built, probably by Edward Ferrar, early in the 18th century, and a back addition, half H-shaped on plan, with the wings extending towards the W. was added a little later, probably by Edward Ferrar, son of the above owner, after his marriage to Love Beverley in 1728. A modern addition has been built on the N. side of the house and the interior has been, to a certain extent, altered.

The house is a good example of its period.

The front to the street, or E. elevation, has a plinth, a moulded brick band to the level of the first floor, a modillioned eaves-cornice and a hipped roof. The front is symmetrically designed in seven bays and has a central entrance-doorway with a moulded architrave and a square head surmounted by a segmental pediment carried on curved brackets; the central window to the floor above has flat pilasters of rubbed brick at the sides supporting a semi-circular arch of rubbed brick with a projecting key-block; the remaining windows on both floors have segmental heads and rubbed-brick dressings and aprons; the second window from the S. on the ground-floor has been converted into a doorway. In the roof are three flat-topped dormers. The S. front is of two dates; the E. end is original and follows the design of the streetfront; the W. end belongs to the later addition; the floors of the two parts are of slightly different levels. Inside the building, the entrance-hall is paved with flag-stones set lozenge-wise within a border of rectangular flags. The northernmost room in the back block has, above the fireplace, a shield of the arms of Ferrar impaling Beverley and indicating the date of the addition. On the first floor, one bedroom has an original cornice and fireplace. The fireplace has a bolection-moulded surround and moulded shelf with a moulded panel above containing an oil painting of a landscape with figures in the foreground; the fireplace is flanked by panelled pilasters supporting an architrave and frieze below the main cornice. One of the bedrooms has a chamfered beam in the ceiling and some of the rooms retain their old cornices; many 18th-century panelled doors remain. The staircase rises from the ground to the first floor in three flights round a well and has short flights from the first-floor landing to the bedrooms in the W. block which are at a slightly higher level; the staircase has moulded handrails, turned balusters and newels in the form of square Doric columns. The ceiling above has a moulded cornice round three sides from which springs a deep cove to a richly moulded rectangular central panel. A gallery along the E. wall connects the attics. In the staircase-window is the following stained glass: the head of a man temp. Charles I, wearing ruff and Vandyke beard; the head of a woman in costume of the same period; the head of a king; and two shields of Ferrar heraldry. The back-stair from the first floor to the attics has turned balusters and a moulded handrail.

Condition—Good.

(20). House and shop on the W. side of the High Street, 70 yards S.S.E. of (19), is of two storeys, timber-framed and plastered; the roofs are tiled. It was built, probably, early in the 16th century but has been converted into a modern shop and considerably altered. At the S. end of the building is a cartway with chamfered beam and exposed joists. The opening in front has an original cross-beam with curved brackets carved with foliage. The upper storey formerly projected in front but has been under-built.

Condition—Good.

(21). Block of three houses and shops, 20 yards S.S.E. of (20), is of two storeys with attics and cellars. The walls are partly of plastered timber-framing and partly of brick; the roofs are tiled. The buildings date from the 16th century but have been added to and considerably altered at later periods. The front of the southernmost block was refronted c. 1800 and modern shop-fronts have been inserted on the ground-floor of the whole block. In the front roof are one gabled and four flat-topped dormers. A low wing at the back is partly of narrow bricks and partly refaced with modern brickwork. Inside the building, in the ceiling of the front northernmost shops, is a moulded 16th-century beam, and a passage to the S. end of the building has a stop-chamfered beam, cased where it is continued into the adjoining shop. In the southernmost shop are remains of early 18th-century panelling and a moulded cornice. One room in the back-wing has a chamfered ceiling-beam.

Condition—Good, much altered.

(22). George Hotel, at the N.W. corner of High Street and George Street, is of two storeys with attics. It is partly of plastered timber-framing, and partly of brick; the roofs are tiled. The house is said to stand on the site of St. George's Church and is built round a large open courtyard. The N.W. range is the earliest part and is of early 17th-century date; the S.W. range was built late in the 17th century and two stable-ranges at the back are of early 18th-century date. The main building is of mid 19th-century date. The Gallery at the S.W. end of the yard is interesting.

The N.W. range is of plastered timber-framing; the upper storey projects on the yard side but the overhang has been under-built at one end. The early 17th-century chimney-stack has a cruciform shaft of four flues, set diagonally. The S.W. range is of brick and has a plain band on the outer face at the level of the first floor. The gallery (Plate 92) on the yard side has a balustrade with late 17th-century turned balusters and panelled posts supporting the roof. The gallery is supported on wooden posts in the form of columns with moulded capitals and bases. There were formerly four of these posts, but one appears to have been removed when the cartway was cut through the range. The gallery is approached by an external staircase in the W. angle of the courtyard, with turned balusters to the handrail.

Interior—The N.E. room of the N.W. range is lined with early 18th-century panelling, in two heights, with a moulded cornice and dado-rail. Other rooms in the building have chamfered ceiling-beams and on one side of the cartway in the S.W. range is the base of a chimney-stack, built of ashlar.

The Stables, S.W. of the main block and backing on to George Street are of two storeys and probably of early 18th-century date. The walls are of brick. Another block of stables, of similar character, lies further to the W.

Condition—Good.

(23). House, three tenements and shops, on the N.E. side of High Street, 200 yards S.E. of All Saints' Church, is of two storeys with attics; the walls are timber-framed and plastered, with a front of modern brick; the roofs are covered with slates. It was built, probably, in the 17th century and has exposed beams and joists in the cartway at the N.W. end.

Condition—Good, much altered.

(24). House, shop and outbuilding, E. of (23), is of two storeys with attics; the walls are timber-framed and plastered and the roofs are tiled. The house was built early in the 16th century, but the front part has been entirely altered or re-built. Inside the building, the room at the back of the shop has two original moulded ceiling-beams. The outbuilding at the back of the house is of two storeys, timber-framed and plastered, and is probably of 17th-century date.

Condition—Good, much altered.

(25). House, two tenements and shops, 20 yards S.E. of (24), is of two storeys with attics, timber-framed and plastered, the roofs are tiled. It was built in the 17th century and has a cartway in the middle and two wings projecting at the back. The N.W. wall has exposed timber-framing. Inside the building a chamfered ceiling-beam is exposed.

Condition—Good, much altered.

(26). House, formerly the Bull Inn, on the W. side of St. Mary's churchyard, 100 yards S.E. of (25), is of two storeys, timber-framed and plastered; the roofs are tiled. It was built in the 17th century on an L-shaped plan, with the wings extending towards the N.W. and N.E. The street-front was altered early in the 18th century and has a deeply projecting upper storey; the early 18th-century doorway is flanked by Doric columns and has a pediment on the face of the upper storey. The upper storey has a gable in the middle, with an 18th-century window of three lights, the middle light having a round head. The chimney-stack, at the junction of the wings, is original, with a moulded capping to the base and a cruciform shaft with pilaster strips.

Condition—Good.

(27). Queen's Head Inn, on the S.W. side of the street, 190 yards S.E. of All Saints' Church, is of two storeys with attics; the walls are of brick and the roofs are tiled. It was built late in the 17th century on an L-shaped plan, with the wings extending towards the S.E. and S.W. The S.E. side of the house has a brick band between the storeys and three original windows with solid frames; two of these have a mullion and transom. Inside the building are some exposed ceiling-beams and an early 18th-century panelled dado.

Condition—Good.

(28). House, 80 yards S.E. of (27), is of two storeys with attics and cellars; the walls are partly of plastered timber-framing and partly of brick; the roofs are tiled. It was built, probably, late in the 16th century on an L-shaped plan with one wing facing High Street and the other projecting towards the S.W. About 1730 the house was refronted and otherwise considerably altered. The S.E. side of the back wing has exposed timber-framing and four original windows, each of two lights with moulded frame and mullion. The timber-framing is also exposed at the back of the main block. The chimney-stack of the back wing is original and has grouped diagonal shafts and pilasters. Inside the building, the end room of the back wing has an original fireplace with chamfered brick jambs and flat four-centred head; three of the walls are lined with original panelling and the fourth with early 18th-century panelling; the moulded ceiling-beam has the painted initials and date J. and G.B., 1674. The kitchen, adjoining, has a chamfered ceiling-beam. On the first floor, the end room of the wing is lined with original panelling and has an original fireplace (Plate 158) with chamfered jambs and four-centred arch in a square head, of plastered brick; it is flanked by fluted Doric pilasters of oak and above it is a fluted frieze and small shelf; the overmantel is of four bays divided by fluted Doric pilasters supporting a carved frieze; the bays have arcaded panels with arabesque ornament; there are two original panelled doors. The room over the kitchen has an early 18th-century fire-place with a moulded surround and shelf; above it are flanking pilasters supporting a cornice. There is a piece of original panelling at the head of the main staircase. At the top of the attic-staircase is a balustrade, with original turned balusters.

Condition—Good.

(29). Cowper House (Plate 93), now two houses and shop, 30 yards S.E. of (28), is of two storeys with attics; the walls are of brick and the roofs are tiled. It was built early in the 18th century and has modern additions at the back. The front is symmetrically designed and has a band-course between the storeys, a modillioned eaves-cornice and a projecting central bay with a pediment; the windows have heads of rubbed brick, those on the first floor of the middle bay being shaped. In the tympanum of the pediment is a round-headed window. The back of the house is of similar general character to the front. Inside the building, the middle room on the street-front is lined with original panelling with a moulded dado-rail and enriched plaster cornice; the cornice is repeated against the two ceiling-beams; the doorways have enriched architraves, carved friezes and enriched cornices; the fireplace has a marble surround. The next room to the N.W. has a panelled dado and an original fireplace with a moulded stone surround; the end room or shop has a similar fireplace and flanking pilasters of wood, carried up to a dentilled cornice. The passage between the last two rooms has an elliptical archway with an enriched key-block, and springing from engaged Doric columns; above the arch is a coved and enriched cornice. On the first floor, two rooms are lined with original panelling and one has a fireplace with an original stone surround.

Condition—Good.

(30). House and shop, 140 yards S.E. of (29), is of two storeys, timber-framed and plastered and partly refaced in brick; the roofs are tiled. It was built in the 17th century but has been much altered.

Condition—Fairly good.

(31). Houses, two and shops, S.E. of (30), are of two storeys, timber-framed and plastered; the roofs are tiled. They were built in the 17th century, but the southern house was raised in the 18th century. The plain chimney-stack is original and there is an original chamfered beam in the southern house.

Condition—Good.

(32). House and shop, 35 yards S.E. of (31), is of two storeys, timber-framed and plastered; the roofs are tiled. It was built in the first half of the 17th century and has an original chimney-stack with grouped diagonal shafts.

Condition—Good.

(33). House, on the W. side of Princes Street, 90 yards S.S.E. of All Saints' Church, is of one storey with attics; the walls are timber-framed and plastered and partly faced with brick; the roofs are tiled. It was built in the 17th century, but the S. end has been pulled down, except for the S. gable; the chimney-stack, formerly central, is original and has grouped diagonal shafts and pilasters.

Condition—Fairly good.

(34). House, in Raitt's Passage, 80 yards S.E. of All Saints' Church, is of two storeys, timber-framed and plastered; the roofs are tiled. It was built in the 16th century, but the N.W. end has been re-built in brick. The upper storey projects on the N.E. side on curved brackets with a diagonal bracket and post at the N. angle; the timber-framing is exposed on this front. Inside the building are original chamfered ceiling-beams.

Condition—Good.

(35). House and shop, on the S. side of All Saints' Passage and 120 yards S.E. of All Saints' Church, is of two storeys with attics; the walls are of brick and the roofs are tiled. The N.E. part of the house was built c. 1660–70 and to this was added the adjoining house on the S.W., early in the 18th century. The original building has remains of a brick entablature between the storeys; the first floor has six original windows each set in an eared projection of brick and having solid frame, mullion and transom; the eaves have a moulded cornice. The early 18th-century addition has bands between the storeys and an eaves-cornice. On the first floor are two modernised windows and a small oval window.

Unclassified

(36). Earthwork, on the N. side of the Hartford Road, 220 yards N.E. of East Street, Newtown, consists of a roughly rectangular island, 17 yards by 9½ yards, with projections at the angles and in the middle of the N.E. end; it is surrounded by a moat. About 30 yards to the S.E. is a double bank, roughly parallel to the Hartford Road and with a double right-angled bend at the N.E. end.

Condition—Bad.

(37). Earthworks, on Mill Common, S. of the County Hospital, consist of a well defined bank with a ditch on the W. side and running S.S.E. to the railway-cutting; beyond this the bank can be traced running almost S. to the Mill Stream. About 176 yards to the E. is a mound 150 ft. in diameter at the base and 60 ft. at the top and 10 ft. high above the highest part of the adjoining ground.

Condition—Fairly good.