Summary

An early-C19 house, with C19 and C20 alterations and additions.

The late-C20 conservatory to the rear is excluded from the listing.

Description

MATERIALS: constructed of squared rubble stone laid to course, with ashlar dressings. It has a Welsh slate tile roof with stone coped verges and ashlar stacks with moulded capping.

PLAN: a single-depth house with a central hallway and a room to either side. The rear extension provides a continuation of the hallway with a heated room to the south which provides access to the single-storey range to the rear, and a room to the north which has been divided into two.

EXTERIOR: the principal elevation (east) of the two-storey house is of three bays with a gable end stack with moulded capping to the north. The central, six-panel, entrance door has a rectangular fanlight above with intersecting tracery, beneath a stone open triangular pediment supported on brackets. To either side of the entrance is a six-over-six sash window with a plain ashlar architrave and stone cill. There are three matching sash windows to the first floor. To the rear (west) elevation there are two dormer windows with hipped roofs and a lateral chimney stack with a brick shaft. The ground and first floors are concealed by a two-storey extension of coursed rubble stone with a Welsh slate roof. To the ground floor are two top-hung, casement windows with glazing bars and a chamfered stone doorcase to the right, and three, top-hung, casement windows to the first floor. To the left is a single-storey range with a gabled roof. To its north side is a round window and a large rectangular window with plate glass.

INTERIOR: the entrance door leads to the hallway with a principal room to either side. The room to the right (north) has a plain stone fireplace with slight chamfering (the grate has been removed) and later applied timbers to the chimney breast. There is chamfered ceiling beam with no stops. The room to the left (south) of the hall has an early-C19 stone fireplace with ovolo moulding and square corner blocks with a cast-iron grate. Both rooms have decorative cornicing with foliate detailing, and the architraves to the doorways are moulded and have square corner blocks with a floral motif. There are four-panel doors throughout. The windows have moulded architraves and retain their window shutters. The C19 extension to the rear includes a room to the south with a tall, open fireplace. There is similar fireplace with a bread oven to the rear range which is accessed from this room. Both fireplaces have plain ashlar surrounds. The C19 staircase has square stick balusters, a moulded handrail and turned newel posts. To the two first-floor bedrooms at the front of the house are C19 cast-iron fireplaces, one within a plain stone surround. The staircase to the attic rooms has a plain handrail and appears to be a later insertion. The roof structure is partially visible to these rooms and comprises C19 principal rafters with trenched purlins.

The late-C20 conservatory to the rear is not of interest and is therefore excluded from the listing.

History

King Street is one of the historic streets of Melksham and runs in a southerly direction from the market square. Melksham, a medieval market town, was focused around the cloth trade from the C14 until the early-C19, when it enjoyed a brief period of prosperity as a spa town. 40 King Street was built in the early-C19, as a single-depth, three-bay house. A two-storey extension was added to the rear of the house in the later C19. There is a further C19 single-storey addition to the rear. A conservatory was added to the rear in the late-C20.

Reasons for Listing

40 King Street, an early-C19 town house with C19 and C20 alterations and additions is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Architectural interest: as a good example of a well-composed early-C19 town house;
* Interior: the original plan form remains legible and there are good-quality fixtures and fittings throughout, including joinery, fireplaces and cornices.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26488866

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

• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)