NHER 45727 (Building record) - Ye Olde Chequers/ The Chequers Inn

The Chequers Inn.

June 1981. Listed, Grade II.
Listing Description excerpt:
"Probably 17th/18th century. Plastered timber-frame with brick plinth. Thatched roof with gabled ends. Two storeys. First floor three small two- and four-light casements. Ground floor has three- and four-light casements. Steps up to
two plank doors. Small later one storey wing on left (west) end. Two brick chimney stacks."
Information from (S1).
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S1) for the current listing details.
S. Spooner (NLA) 29 August 2006. Amended by J. Cullis (HES), 23 December 2019.

October 2009.
Pub gutted by fire.
See local press article (S2) for details,
H. White, (NLA), 15 October 2009.

November 2009. Building Survey.
Fire-damaged building examined by Philip Aitkens (Historic Buildings Consultant) following completion of stabilisation works.
This survey confirmed that the nucleus of the building is in fact a three-cell timber-framed house of mid-16th-century date - a small farmhouse or, possibly, an inn. There is evidence that this initial building was built up against a still earlier structure at the east end - it is possible part of this medieval house was kept to serve as a kitchen or backhouse for the new dwelling. This medieval structure was eventually demolished when the eastern end of the new house was extended - probably within 50 years of the central section being constructed. A substantial attic floor was also constructed over the hall at this time. A small two-storey extension at the west end was added in the 18th century. There is also evidence for an important phase of internal alteration during the early or mid 17th century, when both chimney stacks were built and a new floor structure inserted over the parlour. The main chimneystack is of particular interest as it incorporates the lower part of an earlier timber-framed chimney. The building saw further exensive but mostly cosmetic alternations in the 19th century, when new windows were inserted, a lean-to extension built to the rear and a single-storey block added to the western end of the house. A single-storey 20th-century rear extension was demolished shortly after the fire.
Much of the wall framing of the original 16th-century building survives and it is noted that there is good survival of wattle and daub, even following the file.
See report (S3) for further details, including a detailed phase plan and drawings of the 16th-century trusses.
P. Watkins (HES), 6 February 2024.

March 2010.
Plans to rebuild the pub have been submitted.
H. White (NLA), 9 April 2010.

September 2010. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with renovation of Chequers Inn. This took place after in situ human skeletal remains were discovered beneath the north wall.
The human remains were found to be associated with an east-to-west aligned inhumation, although only the lower portion of the skeleton survived in situ – the remainder having been disturbed by both the present work and previous underpinning of the wall. It was clearly of considerable antiquity, lying beneath the north wall of the oldest portion of the building.
On the north side of the wall the grave had also probably been truncated by a modern pit sealed by a concrete floor, which was found to contain a cache of World War Two era American firearms and ammunition (which were removed by the police.
No other features or deposits of archaeological significance were recorded.
Information from report uploaded to OASIS. HER copy awaited. The results of this work are also summarised in (S4). See also local press articles (S5) and (S6).
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2011.206).
P. Watkins (HES), 6 February 2024.