Building record EYE 199 - 40-42 Church Street, Eye

40-42 Church Street was built in the early-16th century as a high-status merchant’s house with a continuous jetty to its front elevation, a fine ogee-moulded ceiling in its central hall and decorated crown-posts of cross-quadratic section on its undivided upper storey. The hall was flanked in the usual way by a service bay on the left (east) and a parlour on the right. An additional bay was added to the left-hand gable in the early-17th century, and extended to the rear soon afterwards. The new room on the street was not jettied and was probably designed as a kitchen with a large chimney against the 16th century gable. A first-floor doorway was cut into this gable immediately in front of the new chimney to accommodate a straight stair which rose from the kitchen. The kitchen ceiling was rebuilt at a lower level in the mid-17th century to accommodate the insertion of a second chimney and a ceiling in the eastern chamberabove; its front elevation was remodelled at the same time but the original ovolo-moulded window lighting the stair still survives. The 17th century stair was entirely rebuilt as part of a major refurbishment of the house in the early-19th century and its winding replacement served only the eastern chamber. This 19th century stair had been blocked by the mid-20th century, and was used only as a cupboard immediately before the recent fire which destroyed all but its lower steps. The old stair landing on the first floor had become a hidden void accessible by ladder from the attic, but there is no evidence of an historic link between the ground and attic storeys in this position (S1).