NHER 19471 (Building record) - King's Head Cottages, Crown Street

Remarkable survival of hall house with single crown post truss with soot blackened roof and traces of louvre. 15th century or earlier? Upper floor inserted with stack in 16th century. Restoration 1983 was never completed.
Discovered by S. Heywood and Norfolk County Council Listing staff.
Listed grade II*, see (S2).

See report and photos in file, see (S3).
E Rose (NAU) 22 September 1983

February 1984. Listed, Grade II*.
Listing Description:
House. Late C15. Timber framed with wattle and daub infill, with large areas of breeze blocks inserted during restoration of 1983. Pantiled roof. Open hall plan altered to lobby entrance and floored C17. 2 storeys. Brick plinth. Studding of heavy scantling. Door right of centre under stack. One C20 casement left and right and further casement at south. 2 C17 diamond mullioned timber windows under eaves of 2 and 4 lights. Gabled roof with 2 through eaves sloping dormers with casements. Ridge stack. Rear and both gables with breeze block infill. Square doorway next to segmental window opening at south of rear elevation. Good 4-light diamond mullion window, under eaves, the central mullion moulded. Interior timber frame complete. Fireplace with bressummer and bridging beam in north ground floor room has chamfers terminating in roll and tongue stops. Similar details to south room. Good, and rare survival of Queen post roof, the posts octagonal with moulded bases and capitals, the former circular, the latter polygonal. Both have astragal mouldings. 2 pairs survive. Tie beams originally with large arched braces to principal studs, these now removed. Arched braces to collars and clasped Pur.tins. Central smoke louvre blocked but identifiable by interrupted rafters and triangular section ridge piece.
Information from (S2).
H. Mellor (HES), 22 June 2017.

House compulsorily purchased by Norfolk County Council in 1996 for Historic Buildings Trust.
Also in file architect's plans (1996), see (S4), and further report by S. Heywood, see (S1), now suggesting house is 14th century and possibly a manor.
E. Rose (NLA) 3 June 1997

August 1997. Building recording.
The house originally consisted of a central hall open to the roof with service rooms to the south and a parlour and chamber to the north. These subsidiary rooms both had upper floors. This is indicated by the queen post hall truss which is divided in two by a later ceiling. Peg holes and mortises of the former dias windows survive in the north end wall. Empty dovetail slots for a screens passage is visible on the south end wall. The remains of an arched doorway exist in the south gable end, which may indicate the existence of an extra bay. Empty mortices in the corner posts support this interpretation. Two stop-splayed scarf joints, the heavy arched doorways and the carved queen-post hall truss suggests a date in the second half of the 14th century. The hall was floored over in the 17th century and a large stack was built at the high end of the hall.
See (S5) for further details.
H. White (NLA), 10 September 2009.

1998. Dendrochronological Survey.
Survey proved inconclusive.
See report (S6) for further details.
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 17 March 2015.

Restoration begun by March 1999.