Summary

A C17 or earlier timber-framed building, re-fronted in the C19, and with a C20 shop front and C20 rebuilding to the rear.

Description

A C17 or earlier timber-framed building, re-fronted in the C19, and with a C20 shop front and C20 rebuilding to the rear.

MATERIALS: the building is timber framed, with a rendered front elevation to High Street South. The roofs are of plain clay tile roof and Welsh slate. The rear is C20 machine-made brick.

PLAN: the building has a rectilinear plan situated on a long, narrow plot. The roof ridges run from north-east to south-west, perpendicular to the street.

EXTERIOR: a C19 brick front upon a terraced timber-framed building of two storeys and attics. The gable-end forms the principal elevation to High Street South and is whitewashed brick and render. At ground floor is a C20 shop front and sash window with glazing bars to first floor. There is a flush casement window in the attic above, with a welsh slate roof and cast-iron hopper head. The rear section facing Middle Row has a shallower roof pitch and is of machine-made C20 bricks, with a C20 shop front and door.

History

Dunstable town was historically focused upon the intersection of two ancient routes, the Neolithic Icknield Way, running from east to west, and the Roman Watling Street, running from north to south. The crossroad remains a dominant feature in topography of the town. Dunstable has Roman origins, known as Durocobrivis, centred on the crossroads, which appears to have been abandoned at the end of the Roman period. The town was later re-established in the early C12 by Henry I, centred on the royal lodge of Kingsbury and the Augustinian Priory founded in 1131, dissolved in 1540. A market was established in the wide streets and marketplace, where permanent buildings began to encroach to form Middle Row, possibly from the early C13 onwards. The town continued to prosper as a market town in the post-Medieval period, and also as a significant staging post for coaches travelling along Watling Street. The C19 saw the arrival of the railway, new municipal buildings, and the development of the backland with new terraced housing and small industrial premises, notably hat-making. The C20 saw the growth of the town as an engineering centre. Residential expansion continued apace, with associated provision for schools, churches, and other public buildings.

30 High Street South was built in the C17 or earlier. It is visible upon late C19 mapping, as part of ‘Middle Row’ with extensions to the rear, OS 25 Inch 1892-1914. In the C19 a new brick front was added, and in the C20 the first and second floors were converted to residential use.

The building was listed in 1976 with the following description: C19 front to earlier structure. White-washed brick, Welsh slated pentice roof over first floor to attic old tiled gable. Attic flush casement windows, first floor sash window with glazing bars in reveal under flat arch. Modern shop front. Back elevation partly timber framed.

Reasons for Listing

30 High Street South, a C17 or earlier timber-framed building, re-fronted in the C19, and with a C20 shop front is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic and architectural interest:

* for its C17 or earlier origins;
* for its substantial surviving timber frame.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26439607

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)