NHER 26198 (Building record) - Rear of 3 and 5, St John Maddermarket (26 Exchange Street)

Building to rear of 3 and 5 St John Maddermarket, now 26 Exchange Street.

March 1972. Listed, Grade II.
Listing Description excerpt:
"Former use unknown...16th- and 17th-century with 20th-century alterations. Flint and brick. Pantile roofs. T-shape plan mostly concealed by adjoining buildings. Two storeys. Gable-end of north range visible from Exchange Street: re-faced in 20th century with left-side door and casement windows. Entry to south range through 20th-century extension from Lobster Lane".
Information from (S1).
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S1) for the current listing details.
P. Watkins (HES), 29 December 2020.

This building is amongst those described in thesis (S2), which considers the 13th- to 17th-century buildings of Norwich. It is noted that the roofs survive - that at right-angles to the street has a clasped purlin construction and dates to the 16th-century while the other has four-and-a-half bays of butt-purlin construction with two tie beams not connected to a principal truss.
At the time they were examined both blocks had been reorganized internally for office space.
P. Watkins (HES), 29 December 2020.

May 2020. Building Survey.
Record made of flint wall and timber floor structure exposed during conversion to residential premises.
The east-to-west aligned flint wall lies at the junction of the north and south blocks and appears to date to the first phase of construction. There is a central door opening with 20th-century brick jambs, arch and reveal set in concrete. Details noted included two historic candle niches (one to either side of the door) and possible infilled putlog or beam sockets. The fabric of the wall comprised a mix of irregular and partially knapped flints, along with some red, buff and purple bricks and tiles. There was traces of lime wash and evidence for both historic and modern repairs.
The timber floor structure lay between the ground and first floor at the northern end of the southern block. It comprised three beams, a substantial support beam, joists, floorboards and a double-door hatch in the floor (thought to be contemporary with the Georgian brickwork in the walls of the room). Previously it had been enclosed between a modern floor above and a suspended plasterboard ceiling below.
See report (S3) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 29 December 2020.