Summary
House constructed in the late C16 or early C17 and subsequently altered, first in around 1620, then on multiple occasions between the C18 and C21. The building was restored and extended to the rear (west) in the mid- to late C20.
Reasons for Designation
Legacy Record – this information may be included in the List entry Details.
History
Although evidence of Roman and Saxon settlement within Oswestry is sparse, the existence of a large and remarkably well-preserved Iron Age hill fort to the north of the town centre points to a long history of settlement in the area. A motte and bailey castle was constructed shortly after the Norman conquest (1066), and the town appears to have developed in its present location from the C12 onwards, initially to the south of the castle mound. The town was defended by walls and a ditch, although its defensive roll ceased to be important by the late medieval period; the tight network of streets in the town centre represents the development of the land within the bailey to the south and west of the castle mound during the C14-C16. During this period the town flourished as a market for Welsh wool and cloth. The late-medieval and early modern town was largely timber-framed, although today fairly few examples survive from the C15 to C17, often hidden behind later brick facades.
The town developed a newfound importance during the later C18 as a coaching station on the London to Holyhead road. Many buildings in the town centre are of the late C18 and early C19, typically built in red brick and often stuccoed. A rapid expansion in housing followed the establishment of a Cambrian Railway works site to the east of the town centre in 1866. The town’s continued prominence as a regional centre by the late C19 is reflected in the grand, Free Renaissance-style Guildhall of 1893, among other contemporary municipal and commercial buildings. The C20 brought piecemeal rebuilding of the town centre and the growth of suburbs, particularly to the east of the railway. Oswestry’s train station closed to passengers in 1966.
7 Salop Road was constructed in around 1600 and is believed to have been built as a house. A gabled cross-wing was added in around 1620 (the cross-wing bears a painted date of 1621) which functions as a porch beneath. To the rear (west) of the building is a timber-framed lean-to, the date of which is unclear but which was later incorporated into a C19 extension to the building. The building underwent at least two phases of alteration during the C18 and C19. During the late C18 or early C19, a Venetian window was added to the cross-wing and a staircase with turned balusters was installed. During the later C19, the building underwent further significant alterations. The south gable end wall was refronted in red brick, fretted bargeboards were added to the cross-wing, and the building was reroofed in slate. The building was in use as an inn by this time, operating as The Smithfield Inn. The chimney stack was rebuilt during the late C19 or early C20.
During the early to mid- C20, the windows on the principal, east elevation were replaced with timber casement windows. It was also rendered and painted in a mock timber framing pattern. By 1951 the building was in use as a tea room. It was later converted to restaurant use before becoming a public house once more, first as The Black Gate, then renamed The Bullring during the late C20. Two large extensions were added to the rear (west) of the building during the mid- to late-C20, one under a flat roof and the other under a gabled roof. It is understood that the timber front range was extensively restored during the late C20. One known intervention was the stripping back of the render on the front elevation to reveal the original timber framing beneath.
In 2020, the building was converted from a public house to a bakery and café at ground floor level with a dwelling on the first floor.
Details
House constructed in the late C16 or early C17 and subsequently altered, first in around 1620, then on multiple occasions between the C18 and C21. The building was restored and extended to the rear (west) in the mid- to late C20.
MATERIALS: the principal, east range is of timber framed construction with plaster infill, a brick chimney stack and a slate roof. The south gable wall is clad in red brick. To the rear, the C20 extensions are of rendered brickwork.
PLAN: the principal, east range has a square footprint and is arranged on a lobby-entry plan, with equally-sized rooms to the north and south of the brick stack. To the rear, the later extensions have rectangular plans extending westwards away from the timber framed front range.
EXTERIOR: the timber framed front range is of two storeys under a pitched roof. A late C19 axial chimney stack rises through the western (rear) roof slope on axis with the central bay. The principal, east elevation is symmetrically arranged across three bays, with a two-storey, gabled cross-wing with a jettied first floor projecting forward from the central bay. The timber framing to the cross-wing is close-studded on the first floor, with a central rail on the ground and first floors, and moulded bressumers to its south and north faces. The main entrance comprises a round-arched, open porch with a wooden bench on the inside of the north wall, and a panelled door on the line of the original front elevation. On the first floor, there is a Venetian window with an eleven paned central element flanked by four-paned windows. The gable carries C19 fretted bargeboards and a C20 finial. The south and north bays each contain a C20, tripartite, timber casement on the ground and first floors. The north bay has close studding and retains the original location of two-light mullion windows on the ground and first floors, now infilled. The slate roof projects out over the south gable end wall and is supported on moulded timber brackets on brick corbels.
The rear elevation of the principal, east range comprises three rendered brick gables of the C18 or C19. Each gable contains a timber, multi-paned window. Later C20 extensions project from this rear elevation creating a U shape plan and largely concealing the rear elevation of the earlier, front range.
INTERIOR: the interior is understood to contain exposed timber framing throughout, composed of square panels, some with wattle and daub infill displayed, and long, straight tension braces. The original back wall is exposed, with mortice holes for closeset vertical posts, now removed. There is a chamfered spine beam with ogee stops and heavy joists to the southern ground-floor room, and an infilled inglenook fireplace with a cast-iron cooking range. The staircase is of the early C19 and has turned balusters. There are slightly cambered tie beams exposed to gable ends but rest of roof trusses concealed at time of a previous survey (1980s).
