2 St John Street

Construction of The Court House

Local historian, Tom Crowe did a brief survey of the building before it was demolished in 1982.  He noted that:

 "the building is of one period.  The windows have not been inserted.  The material appears to be all of white limestone, except the relieving arch over the door in the photograph is of brick, and the flue, inserted later, is also in-filled with brick.  The relieving arches over the down stairs window are of white limestone.  The roof does not overhang the gable ends, there are no barge boards and therefore the Higgins ante fix could not have come from here- moreover, the roof angle is around 95 degrees, the slots in the ante fix would fit a 72 degree included angle roof. 

The outer wall of the “old court” was thick and had splayed window openings (like arrow slits of a castle).  The cistern under the whole building was a brick arched construction and had a water level of about 4 feet 6 inches.

It is thought to be 60 feet long and 18 feet wide inside the walls.  Partitions upstairs were all framed and single plank.  Partition between the kitchen and the “cold store” was lathe and plaster.  Kitchen/lounge diner wall single brick.   Lounge diner entrance hall wall was single brick".

The last tenant of the property, Phillip Dagger told Tom Crowe that he remembered 'an historian' visited the site in about 1976 with a view to getting it listed.  Phillip replaced a window and had to “restore” it at the insistence of the “planners”.  However when Northavon District Council purchased the building from the Trayhurn's executors, they allowed it to fall into disrepair and it was eventually considered that it had to be demolished.

 This page was last updated: 15/12/2009