MEM24027 - The Old Forge, neighbouring cottage and The Farmers Den, Chapel Street, Exford (Building)

The building is shown on historic mapping as a shop and house. There is a large round headed archway in the left hand side of the front elevation of the range. The neighbouring property (MEM24026) was described as a smithy.

The Tithe Map for Exford shows a building forming the end part of a row at SS 8534 3838. The southwestern end is shown as in domestic use with the northeastern end shown as subsidiary. They are together labelled 1189, which the accompanying Apportionment describes as "House and Shop", leased by Osmond Locke and occupied by Robert Adams and others. [1] The property is shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map as still forming the end of the terrace. [2] The row has since been extended to the south and the property appears to be subdivided. The front elevation of the building is rendered. The 'shop end' (now named "The Old Forge") has a large round headed archway at the left end with a door to its right with a gabled canopy; it is now in commercial use as a holiday cottage. The domestic part of the building has a window on the left hand side and a doorway with a flat roofed canopy on the right. Both properties have a single large dormer window above on the 1st floor. The extension at the southwestern end is now occupied by a shop ("The Farmers Den"), which has a large shop window and door on the ground floor and a dormer window above. On its southwestern end is a small covered stairway projection with a door facing the street, also rendered and slated and featuring a rooflight. [3,4] The building is shown in a photograph taken in the late 1940s by RAJ Bowden. At this time, the archway was closed by what appears to be a large sliding door and there was a small window to its right where the present doorway is now sited. There was no chimney for this part of the building, suggesting it was unheated. Beyond, in the 'domestic' end, the window can be seen but the further doorway was not present at this time. There were no dormer windows on the first floor of the entire range but a shutter or advertising board is hanging on the first floor above the arched entranceway. The roof was still slated and the only chimney is on the southwestern gable end. Beyond the domestic part of the property was a single storey flat roofed shop; this may have been extended upwards to form part of the present building. [5]