NHER 67179 (Building record) - 1-7 (odd) Bury Road (The Gatehouse)

1-7 (odd) Bury Road (The Gatehouse).

A row of three unlisted buildings, most, if not all of which date to the 19th century. The Ordnance Survey 1:500 Town Plan map of 1883 (S1) depicts them in their present configuration, with Nos 5 and 7 shown as a single building. The easternmost section is though clearly earlier and presumably the original gatehouse. This is confirmed by the Thetford St Cuthbert tithe map (S2), which shows a clear break between the narrow gatehouse and a building to the west (presumably Nos 1 and 3 Bury Road). The Gatehouse has flint walls and is notably more elaborate than the remainder of the row, with much yellow brick detailing to its eastern elevation and semi-circular fanlights above the two windows in its south elevation. The southern elevation of Nos 1 and 3 is mostly clunch with brick detailing. Numerous discontinuities and irregularities suggest this wall was rebuilt/modified on a number of occasions. The west gable of No 1 was rebuilt in brick at some point in the 20th century. The central building (No 5) has a continuous roofline with the original gatehouse. The lower portion of its southern elevation is clunch, with flint pebbles and an area of irregularly-coarsed brick above. As with the buildings to the west the jumbled, mixed nature of the fabric points to several rebuilds. At least some of the windows are likely to be later insertions.
Sections of brick and flint wall to either side of the adjacent gateway are likely to be contemporary with The Gatehouse. This gateway would have provided access to the rear of The Limes (NHER 40802) and the large former garden that had previously occupied most of this block of land.
P. Watkins (HES), 31 July 2023.

February 2021. Photographic Survey.
Basic historic building recording undertaken ahead of the proposed conversion of these buildings back into residential dwellings (until recently they had been in use as offices).
There are some exposed beams on both the ground floor and first floor but otherwise the interiors appears to have been entirely stripped of original features.
See report (S3) for results of photographic survey and other additional information, including copy of 2020 survey.
P. Watkins (HES), 31 July 2023.