24 West Street

Designation information

Historical development

The town of Leominster traces its origins to the establishment of a religious house there during the C7 or earlier. The Saxon settlement endured repeated Viking raids and is recorded as a sizeable town in the Domesday Book (1086), with 27 households. In the early-C12, King Henry I established a Benedictine Priory in the town and granted a foundation charter for the town’s market. The town thrived throughout the later medieval period, despite periodic unrest due to its location in the border region. Leominster wool was prized across Europe and bestowed considerable wealth upon the town. The town centre retains many medieval and early-modern buildings; secular buildings are timber framed while surviving Priory buildings are constructed of local sandstone. The town centre retains an essentially medieval street pattern, with long, narrow burgage plots fronting the north-south spine road of Broad Street-High Street-South Street, and Corn Square (the historic market place) lying to the east of the High Street. The remains of the Priory, dissolved in 1539, lie to the north-east of the town centre. The town remained a prominent local centre into the C18 and C19. During this period, many timber-framed buildings replaced (or refronted) by brick buildings with Classical elevations. Many houses in the town centre were partially converted to commercial use and equipped with shopfronts during the later-C19 and C20. 24 West Street was constructed during the mid to late-C18 as a house or pair of houses, possibly with commercial premises on the ground floor. The principal, south elevation was altered during the late-C19, with the insertion of horned sashes and possibly the renewal of the window heads with stone lintels. The ground-floor shopfront was installed during the early-C20. The building was extended to the rear (north) by 1885 and again in the mid to late-C20. It is currently (2022) in use as a shop.

People and businesses through time

Architectural evidence and features

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How this record is evidenced

Map location

Current survey photographs

Documentary evidence

Historic England

Official list description

House or pair of houses constructed during the mid to late-C18 with alterations and additions in both the C19 and C20. MATERIALS: the building is constructed of brick laid in Flemish bond, painted to its principal, south elevation and rendered to the east elevation, with a timber shopfront and a plain tile roof covering. PLAN: the building occupies an L-shaped plan with the historic, principal, south range fronting West Street and two extensions to the north along the eastern plot boundary. EXTERIOR: the principal, south range is of three storeys across two bays onto West Street under a steep, pitched roof with a cross-gable projecting northwards and a ridge chimney stack on the party wall with Number 26 to the west. The ground floor carries a symmetrical shopfront with a central shop window with moulded timber surrounds and two timber mullions above a low stall riser, flanked by pairs of pilasters which frame half-glazed and panelled doors at either end of the elevation. The base of the pilasters is continued along the stall riser. The four pilasters rise to a simply moulded fascia with flat hood. Above, the first and second floors each carry a pair of late-C19, timber sash windows with stone lintels and stucco cills. The first-floor windows are two-pane sashes while the smaller, second-floor windows have two-over-two glazing. There is a dentillated brick eaves course. The east elevation is partially exposed and carries a single-pane, fixed window in a plain timber surround. Adjoining the front range to the north is a two-storey, C19 extension under a pitched roof, followed by a single-storey, C20 extension under a flat roof. History The town of Leominster traces its origins to the establishment of a religious house there during the C7 or earlier. The Saxon settlement endured repeated Viking raids and is recorded as a sizeable town in the Domesday Book (1086), with 27 households. In the early-C12, King Henry I established a Benedictine Priory in the town and granted a foundation charter for the town’s market. The town thrived throughout the later medieval period, despite periodic unrest due to its location in the border region. Leominster wool was prized across Europe and bestowed considerable wealth upon the town. The town centre retains many medieval and early-modern buildings; secular buildings are timber framed while surviving Priory buildings are constructed of local sandstone. The town centre retains an essentially medieval street pattern, with long, narrow burgage plots fronting the north-south spine road of Broad Street-High Street-South Street, and Corn Square (the historic market place) lying to the east of the High Street. The remains of the Priory, dissolved in 1539, lie to the north-east of the town centre. The town remained a prominent local centre into the C18 and C19. During this period, many timber-framed buildings replaced (or refronted) by brick buildings with Classical elevations. Many houses in the town centre were partially converted to commercial use and equipped with shopfronts during the later-C19 and C20. 24 West Street was constructed during the mid to late-C18 as a house or pair of houses, possibly with commercial premises on the ground floor. The principal, south elevation was altered during the late-C19, with the insertion of horned sashes and possibly the renewal of the window heads with stone lintels. The ground-floor shopfront was installed during the early-C20. The building was extended to the rear (north) by 1885 and again in the mid to late-C20. It is currently (2022) in use as a shop.

Sources and further reading

1. Historic England, National Heritage List for England entry 1255536

Open questions

1. Can a current photograph be added to record the public elevations and visible historic fabric?