46 High Street, Nantwich
Encyclopedia
46 High Street is a timber-framed
, black-and-white Elizabethan
merchant's house in Nantwich
, Cheshire
, England, located in the town square at the corner of High Street and Castle Street (at ). The present building dates from shortly after the fire of 1583, and is believed to have been built for Thomas Churche, a linen merchant from one of the more prominent families of the town. It remained in the Churche family until the late 19th century.
High Street was the home of the wealthiest townspeople in the 1580s, and the houses dating from the rebuilding form the finest examples of post-fire architecture in the town. A substantial and fine example of its type, 46 High Street features ornamental panelling, jetties
and brackets
decorated with carved human figures and animals. On the interior, a first-floor room retains panelling and decorative plasterwork dating from the early 17th century. The building is listed at grade II*. It is currently used as a book shop and coffee shop.
on nearby Hospital Street was built. In common with almost all of the town east of the River Weaver
, the house was destroyed in the fire of 1583. It was rebuilt shortly afterwards, probably in 1584, at a cost of £120, of which £20 came from the town rebuilding fund. After the rebuilding, the adjacent house (now 42–44 High Street) was owned by Richard Churche's son, William, who was also in the linen trade.
In 1586, Thomas Churche married Anne Mainwaring, who came from another prominent Nantwich family. Before its restoration, the church contained a memorial tablet with portraits of the couple. George Ormerod
's History describes these as depicting "an aged male and female figure holding up their hands in prayer; both having large ruffs; the man has a venerable beard and red cap edged with lace; the female a close cap and high-crowned hat." They are also probably the subject of portraits on two of the present building's corbels. Thomas Churche died in 1635, and is buried in St Mary's Church
. His will describes the house, bequeathed to his wife (who died in 1639), as "my Messuage
or Burgage
lyinge and beinge in Wich Malbank". The post-mortem inventory was valued at a total of £311 11s 10d; possessions mentioned in the will include a "drawing table in the Great Chamber".
In 1723–24, the house is mentioned in the marriage settlement of Saboth Churche, Thomas Churche's great-grandson, as "One Messuage and one Shop with their Appurtenances situate in High Town [High Street] adjoining to the Pudding Lane [Castle Street]". An 1874 directory carried an advertisement for the High Street premises of William Church & Co., "general drapers, silk mercers, milliners, dressmakers, tailors, & gentlemen's mercers", and the building remained in the Churche family until a few years before James Hall's History of 1883. Subsequently it has been the premises for a number of retailers including Lovatt's (1905), two ironmongers
, George Bros. (from c. 1905) and Frank Clayton (c. 1948), and the electrical retailer Rumbelows
(c. 1970s–1990s), before becoming Nantwich Bookshop in the 1990s.
building of two storeys with attics. It has two gables to the front face on High Street and three gables to the side on Castle Street. The High Street face abuts the adjacent house (42–44 High Street), which was built at the same time. The external timbers are painted black, with white-painted plaster panels, giving a black-and-white appearance. There are large jetties
to the first floor and attic storey, not only on the front face but also on the Castle Street side; usually only the main street face was jettied. The jetties all feature plaster coving underneath. The corbel
s (brackets) all bear carvings featuring human and animal subjects against a decorative background. These include two carved busts on the first floor jetties of the Castle Street face, which are probably portraits of Thomas and Anne Churche, and are similar to those of Richard and Margerye Churche at Churche's Mansion
. Other carvings include a nude caryatid
(female figure supporting a structure) on the corner, a Renaissance
device, as well as a sheep, a bear and a half-length portrait of a clothed woman.
Both the High Street and Castle Street faces have decorative framing on the two upper storeys, which is made up of small panels containing ornamental devices. The design uses ogee
bracing, similar to that at Churche's Mansion; it is elaborated on the High Street façade with spurs. Ornamental panelling, the most expensive and highest status type of timber framing, was very fashionable in the Elizabethan period. The ground floor of the Castle Street side was originally close studded
with a middle rail, another expensive type of framing; this was still present in around 1883, but has since been replaced. 46 High Street is one of two houses built after the fire which originally used both decorative panels and close studding, the other being 3 Church Lane. Both types of framing are also used together on the earlier Churche's Mansion and Sweetbriar Hall.
The windows are mullion
ed and transomed
, with originally eight or ten lights. The mullions and transoms are in wood and have ovolo
mouldings with narrow fillets. Two eight-light windows are believed to date from the 17th century. The High Street bays have modern shop windows to the ground floor. The visible beams are ovolo moulded and feature brattishing
, a form of decorative cresting. There is a slate roof, although like the other rebuilt merchants' houses on the High Street, number 46 probably originally had a tiled rather than thatched roof, a sign of wealth that was also an effective protection against the fires that destroyed parts of Hospital Street and Welsh Row in the 17th century. The timber frame uses soffit
tenon
s with diminished haunch, a particularly high-quality type of carpentry joint invented early in the 16th century.
Number 46 is unusual among the merchant's houses in the town centre in being two bays wide; most similar houses originally had only a single bay. The original house probably incorporated a shop on the ground floor. In the original plan, the two principal chambers would have been on the first floor. One of the first-floor rooms, now used as a café, is a good example of a living chamber with decoration dating from the early 17th century. The walls have full-height oak panelling topped with an Ionic
frieze
, and the ceiling has decorative plasterwork in the intervening spaces between the beams, featuring strapwork
and fretting.
timber-framed
buildings, all of which date from after the fire; these include the Queen's Aid House
, which stands opposite number 46, and the grade-I-listed Crown Inn
.
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
, black-and-white Elizabethan
Elizabethan architecture
Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...
merchant's house in Nantwich
Nantwich
Nantwich is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The town gives its name to the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England, located in the town square at the corner of High Street and Castle Street (at ). The present building dates from shortly after the fire of 1583, and is believed to have been built for Thomas Churche, a linen merchant from one of the more prominent families of the town. It remained in the Churche family until the late 19th century.
High Street was the home of the wealthiest townspeople in the 1580s, and the houses dating from the rebuilding form the finest examples of post-fire architecture in the town. A substantial and fine example of its type, 46 High Street features ornamental panelling, jetties
Jettying
Jettying is a building technique used in medieval timber frame buildings in which an upper floor projects beyond the dimensions of the floor below. This has the advantage of increasing the available space in the building without obstructing the street...
and brackets
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
decorated with carved human figures and animals. On the interior, a first-floor room retains panelling and decorative plasterwork dating from the early 17th century. The building is listed at grade II*. It is currently used as a book shop and coffee shop.
History
A house stood on this site before the fire of 1583, probably built for Thomas Churche (or Church), a mercer or linen merchant. The Churche family numbered among the town's gentry during the 15–17th centuries, and Thomas was the nephew of Richard Churche, a wealthy merchant for whom Churche's MansionChurche's Mansion
Churche's Mansion is a timber-framed, black-and-white Elizabethan mansion house at the eastern end of Hospital Street in Nantwich, Cheshire, England...
on nearby Hospital Street was built. In common with almost all of the town east of the River Weaver
River Weaver
The River Weaver is a river, navigable in its lower reaches, running in a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, northern England. Improvements to the river to make it navigable were authorised in 1720 and the work, which included eleven locks, was completed in 1732...
, the house was destroyed in the fire of 1583. It was rebuilt shortly afterwards, probably in 1584, at a cost of £120, of which £20 came from the town rebuilding fund. After the rebuilding, the adjacent house (now 42–44 High Street) was owned by Richard Churche's son, William, who was also in the linen trade.
In 1586, Thomas Churche married Anne Mainwaring, who came from another prominent Nantwich family. Before its restoration, the church contained a memorial tablet with portraits of the couple. George Ormerod
George Ormerod
George Ormerod was an English antiquary and historian. Amongst his writings was a major account of the history of Cheshire, a county in northwestern England.-Biography:...
's History describes these as depicting "an aged male and female figure holding up their hands in prayer; both having large ruffs; the man has a venerable beard and red cap edged with lace; the female a close cap and high-crowned hat." They are also probably the subject of portraits on two of the present building's corbels. Thomas Churche died in 1635, and is buried in St Mary's Church
St Mary's Church, Nantwich
St Mary's Church, Nantwich, is in the centre of the market town of Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It has been called the "Cathedral of South Cheshire" and it is considered by some to be one of the finest medieval...
. His will describes the house, bequeathed to his wife (who died in 1639), as "my Messuage
Messuage
In law, the term messuage equates to a dwelling-house and includes outbuildings, orchard, curtilage or court-yard and garden. At one time messuage supposedly had a more extensive meaning than that conveyed by the words house or site, but such distinction no longer survives.A capital messuage is the...
or Burgage
Burgage
Burgage is a medieval land term used in England and Scotland, well established by the 13th century. A burgage was a town rental property , owned by a king or lord. The property usually, and distinctly, consisted of a house on a long and narrow plot of land, with the narrow end facing the street...
lyinge and beinge in Wich Malbank". The post-mortem inventory was valued at a total of £311 11s 10d; possessions mentioned in the will include a "drawing table in the Great Chamber".
In 1723–24, the house is mentioned in the marriage settlement of Saboth Churche, Thomas Churche's great-grandson, as "One Messuage and one Shop with their Appurtenances situate in High Town [High Street] adjoining to the Pudding Lane [Castle Street]". An 1874 directory carried an advertisement for the High Street premises of William Church & Co., "general drapers, silk mercers, milliners, dressmakers, tailors, & gentlemen's mercers", and the building remained in the Churche family until a few years before James Hall's History of 1883. Subsequently it has been the premises for a number of retailers including Lovatt's (1905), two ironmongers
Ironmongery
Ironmongery originally referred both to the manufacture, and the place of sale of iron goods produced for domestic rather than industrial use. The usage of the term has expanded in recent times to include consumer goods made of aluminium, brass, or other metals, as well as plastics...
, George Bros. (from c. 1905) and Frank Clayton (c. 1948), and the electrical retailer Rumbelows
Rumbelows
Rumbelows was an electrical and electronics retailer in the United Kingdom which once rivalled Currys, Dixons and Comet.-History:Fred Dawes established the company as a chain of television and radio rental shops in the 1950s, naming it Fred Dawes...
(c. 1970s–1990s), before becoming Nantwich Bookshop in the 1990s.
Description
46 High Street is a timber-framedTimber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
building of two storeys with attics. It has two gables to the front face on High Street and three gables to the side on Castle Street. The High Street face abuts the adjacent house (42–44 High Street), which was built at the same time. The external timbers are painted black, with white-painted plaster panels, giving a black-and-white appearance. There are large jetties
Jettying
Jettying is a building technique used in medieval timber frame buildings in which an upper floor projects beyond the dimensions of the floor below. This has the advantage of increasing the available space in the building without obstructing the street...
to the first floor and attic storey, not only on the front face but also on the Castle Street side; usually only the main street face was jettied. The jetties all feature plaster coving underneath. The corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
s (brackets) all bear carvings featuring human and animal subjects against a decorative background. These include two carved busts on the first floor jetties of the Castle Street face, which are probably portraits of Thomas and Anne Churche, and are similar to those of Richard and Margerye Churche at Churche's Mansion
Churche's Mansion
Churche's Mansion is a timber-framed, black-and-white Elizabethan mansion house at the eastern end of Hospital Street in Nantwich, Cheshire, England...
. Other carvings include a nude caryatid
Caryatid
A caryatid is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term karyatides literally means "maidens of Karyai", an ancient town of Peloponnese...
(female figure supporting a structure) on the corner, a Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
device, as well as a sheep, a bear and a half-length portrait of a clothed woman.
Both the High Street and Castle Street faces have decorative framing on the two upper storeys, which is made up of small panels containing ornamental devices. The design uses ogee
Ogee
An ogee is a curve , shaped somewhat like an S, consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite senses, so that the ends are parallel....
bracing, similar to that at Churche's Mansion; it is elaborated on the High Street façade with spurs. Ornamental panelling, the most expensive and highest status type of timber framing, was very fashionable in the Elizabethan period. The ground floor of the Castle Street side was originally close studded
Close studding
Close studding is a form of timber work used in timber-framed buildings in which vertical timbers are set close together, dividing the wall into narrow panels...
with a middle rail, another expensive type of framing; this was still present in around 1883, but has since been replaced. 46 High Street is one of two houses built after the fire which originally used both decorative panels and close studding, the other being 3 Church Lane. Both types of framing are also used together on the earlier Churche's Mansion and Sweetbriar Hall.
The windows are mullion
Mullion
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...
ed and transomed
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
, with originally eight or ten lights. The mullions and transoms are in wood and have ovolo
Ovolo
Ovolo in architecture, is a convex molding known also as the echinus, which in Classical architecture was invariably carved with the egg-and-dart ornament. The molding is called a quarter-round by woodworkers...
mouldings with narrow fillets. Two eight-light windows are believed to date from the 17th century. The High Street bays have modern shop windows to the ground floor. The visible beams are ovolo moulded and feature brattishing
Brattishing
In architecture, brattishing or brandishing is a decorative cresting which is found at the top of a cornice or screen, panel or parapet. The design often includes leaves or flowers, and the term is particularly associated with Tudor architecture....
, a form of decorative cresting. There is a slate roof, although like the other rebuilt merchants' houses on the High Street, number 46 probably originally had a tiled rather than thatched roof, a sign of wealth that was also an effective protection against the fires that destroyed parts of Hospital Street and Welsh Row in the 17th century. The timber frame uses soffit
Soffit
Soffit , in architecture, describes the underside of any construction element...
tenon
Mortise and tenon
The mortise and tenon joint has been used for thousands of years by woodworkers around the world to join pieces of wood, mainly when the adjoining pieces connect at an angle of 90°. In its basic form it is both simple and strong. Although there are many joint variations, the basic mortise and tenon...
s with diminished haunch, a particularly high-quality type of carpentry joint invented early in the 16th century.
Number 46 is unusual among the merchant's houses in the town centre in being two bays wide; most similar houses originally had only a single bay. The original house probably incorporated a shop on the ground floor. In the original plan, the two principal chambers would have been on the first floor. One of the first-floor rooms, now used as a café, is a good example of a living chamber with decoration dating from the early 17th century. The walls have full-height oak panelling topped with an Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
, and the ceiling has decorative plasterwork in the intervening spaces between the beams, featuring strapwork
Strapwork
In the history of art and design, the term strapwork refers to a stylised representation in ornament of strips or bands of curling leather, parchment or metal cut into elaborate shapes, with piercings and often interwoven...
and fretting.
Modern building
As of 2010, the building is an independent book shop and coffee shop. The modern High Street still contains many other good examples of ElizabethanElizabethan architecture
Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...
timber-framed
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
buildings, all of which date from after the fire; these include the Queen's Aid House
Queen's Aid House
The Queen's Aid House, or 41 High Street, is a timber-framed, black-and-white Elizabethan merchant's house in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. It is located on the High Street immediately off the town square and opposite the junction with Castle Street . It is listed at grade II...
, which stands opposite number 46, and the grade-I-listed Crown Inn
Crown Hotel, Nantwich
The Crown Hotel, also known as the Crown Inn, is a timber-framed, black-and-white hotel and public house located at 24–26 High Street in the town of Nantwich in Cheshire, England. The present building dates from shortly after 1583...
.
Sources
- Bavington G, Edge B, Finch H et al. Nantwich, Worleston & Wybunbury: A Portrait in Old Picture Postcards (Brampton Publications; 1987) (ISBN 0-9511469-6-3)
- Garton E. Tudor Nantwich: A Study of Life in Nantwich in the Sixteenth Century (Cheshire County Council Libraries and Museums; 1983) (ISBN 0-903017-05-9)
- Hall J. A History of the Town and Parish of Nantwich, or Wich Malbank, in the County Palatine of Chester (2nd edn) (E. J. Morten; 1972) (ISBN 0-901598-24-0)
- Lake J. The Great Fire of Nantwich (Shiva Publishing; 1983) (ISBN 0-906812-57-7)
- Pevsner N, Hubbard E. The Buildings of England: Cheshire (Penguin Books; 1971) (ISBN 0-14-071042-6)
- Simpson R. Crewe and Nantwich: A Pictorial History (Phillimore; 1991) (ISBN 0-85033-724-0)
- Stevenson PJ. Nantwich: A Brief History and Guide (1994)