NHER 17905 (Building record) - 6 to 14 St James' Street

'Row of houses without halls lining the streets one room deep and two storeys high...they lie under one continuous 15th century crownpost roof. There are no halls behind and no passageways from which halls could be entered or lit. Such properties would consist of a shop at ground level, perhaps with a stair or ladder at the back giving access to the upper floor. The chimneys added along the back wall are not original so in medieval times there appears to have been no means of heating the buildings. This kind of property, in the Red Register and elsewhere, is referred to as shops and solars, but it is not clear how they were used beyond the fact that part, presumably on the ground floor, was a shop. These buildings may never have been intended as dwellings and thus imply an early separation of workplace and home for some members of the community'.
Taken from (S1).
E. Rose (NAU), 5 February 1982.

1951. Listed Grade II.
See (S2) for fuller details including overall crownpost roof and brick arches in original end wall.
Nos. 2 and 4 are not listed and do not form part of this record. In fact they are not part of the row, but 19th century brick additions. Note that the original row is jettied to north.
E. Rose (NLA), 16 February 1999.

September 2008. Building survey of No. 14 prior to redevelopment.
The building comprises three units of a terrace of jettied, partly timber-framed buildings. The terrace consisted of seven separate small shops, of which only two at the western end have remained as separate units, while the others have combined with their neighbours. It appears that only the upper storey of this range of buildings is timber framed.
Two arches, which are now blind, seen on the inside of the gable end wall, suggest that there were two medieval shop windows opening onto a former street or passage.
The rear external wall shows an area of whitewashing which was the back wall of a lean-to that has now been removed. The area above the rear door is a mixture of materials with a blocked opening above and the suggestion of a roofline. This could be the remains of a former stair outshut. At a low level there is a blocked window with a 17th century ovolo-moulded frame. Adjacent to this is brick work laid in English bond with a variety of highly-fired medieval bricks; this could be part of the original building. There is further evidence of this on one of the roof tie beams which has provision for a wall post and arched brace. Much of the evidence is under plaster and therefore it is difficult to gain a full understanding of this building. However, it seems likely that most of the rear wall at both storeys was of brick as it remains.
The crownpost roof, although damaged, is a fine example. Each truss was built closed with infilled timber-framing corresponding to the three different properties. These partitions are a most unusual feature which may relate to separation of storage areas, perhaps for storing loose goods.
There is no provision for chimney stacks in the original structure and it is clear that these are later insertions. It is possible that the halls pertaining, but not physically attached, to these shops were in amongst the buildings which formed yards at the back of these shops.
See (S3) for further information.
Addendum to (S3) notes that the removal of plaster on the interior of the wall supported by the jetty shows timber studwork with mortared brick infill.
See (S4) for details of redevelopment including insertion of window and removal of chimney.
H. White (NLA), 26 November 2008, amended A. Cattermole (King's Lynn UAD), 23 November 2018.