Listed Building record MDR12455 - 35 Church Street, Eckington

House, formerly a public meeting room or guildhall, dated to the 16th century or earlier, converted to a dwelling in the late 16th century and extended in the mid 19th century. It was restored in 1986/7. The building is constructed of coursed coal measures sandstone with quoins, plain gables, ridge, side wall and gable brick stacks, and has Welsh and stone slated roofs. It is two storeys high with four bays. Within the stone walls are quoined reveals of earlier window openings. All four walls at first floor level, and at least the south gable at ground floor level have surviving elements of substantial timber mullioned windows. A substantial stack was inserted into the central bay at its northern end in the late 16th century. The interior retains massive oak spine beams and substantial oak joists, back to back hearths, that to the south with a cambered lintel supported by side corbels integral with the hearth quoins. The first floor hearths are of similar design, but smaller. The roof structure is re-assembled, but comprises queen strut trusses supporting single through purlins. The tie beams are slightly cambered. There are no windbraces but many oak rafters survive. The evidence of the window openings to the first floor and the substantial construction of the floor suggests the use of the first floor as an assembly room of some form, possibly a guildhall. (1) Ten samples were taken from this house for tree ring dating, five as slices from floor joists that had been removed from the building and stored in the garden and a further five as cores from joists and spinal bridging beams in situ in the house. However, the sliced samples were found to be too short for dating purposes. The remaining samples were cross-matched against national and local chronologies but no date was obtained. (2)