More information : (TG 02814407) Guildhall (NR) (1)
A C15th, Grade II building, of which only the ground stage remains. Vaulted. (2)
A history board hanging in the undercroft, stated it is of C14th date. Divided into 2 aisles by stone piers and covered by rib vaulting of brick; the door and windows are original. Well preserved and in outstanding condition. See ground photographs. (3)
The medieval building known as the Guildhall is set into the slope of the Mariners Hill to the east of the High Street. The monument includes the rectangular undercroft of the building, and above the undercroft, the ruined remains of the walls of the upper storey. At the southern end of the east wall is a projecting rectangular structure which contains the remains of the garderobe shute from the upper level. The walls of the building, which is also Listed Grade II* and has been dated to the 15th century, are constructed of flint with freestone dressings and some brick. The undercroft is vaulted in brick with four bays to either side of a central row of octagonal stone columns which support the ribbed vaults. It is lit by three internally splayed windows with stone surrounds set in the east wall and is entered by a door with stone moulded jambs and arch head in the north wall. Three steps lead down to the cobbled floor, which is circa 0.5 metres below the level of the ground surface outside. The walls of the upper storey stand to a maximum height of 2 metres and the remains of the eastern wall include parts of the stone sills of three window openings and the brick and stone jambs of the opening to the garderobe chamber. On the east side of the building, part of the foundation of the wall is exposed, the original ground surface level being marked by a clearly visible change in construction. The traditional name of the Guildhall may reflect its later use, but this structure was probably built originally as the house of a merchant, at a time when Blakeney was the third most important port in Norfolk after Yarmouth and Lynn. (4)
The now ruined Blakeney Guildhall was built in the 14th or 15th centuries and may have originally been a merchant's house. It is thought to have been used as a guildhall in the later medieval period. Today, the remains of the walls exist above ground and the brick vaulted undercroft is in excellent condition. (5)
The site is listed in the English Heritage Visitor Handbook 2009/10. It is managed by Blakeney Parish Council. (6) |