| Description | 101 103 Westgate, Wakefield. Mid 18th century building incorporating a mid 16th century timber framed building.
'Early mid C18 building of 2 storeys, four windows, Soft pinkish brick. Fairly high pitched swept roof now slated. Replaced sash windows, in flush box frames, have stone cills. Central narrow round arched entrance to Schofield's Yard. C20 shop fronts. Original rear elevation, but for end wall of wing'.
(English Heritage listed building description. Date listed 01/02/1979. http://list.english heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1273155. Web site accessed 10/12/2013).
103 Westgate was the subject of an archaeological assessment by Colum Giles (WYAS) in 1995. The photographic images produced by the assessment are held by WYAAS (Giles, C. (WYAS). 1995).
In the same year the range was the subject of a report by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. The report is transcribed below:
'103 Westgate stands on the south side of Westgate, one of the principal streets of medieval Wakefield. It is a two storey building consisting of a street range (now sharing a common roof with 101 Westgate) and a rear range. The rear range incorporates the fragmentary remains of a timber framed structure, probably mid 16th century in date, which is built over what is likely to be a contemporary stone walled cellar. It is currently unclear whether the range represents the survival of part of a linear building to the street or whether, as the widths of neighbouring frontages might, imply, it represents the rear wing to a wider street range which has been rebuilt substantially as two properties.
The timber frame consists of at least two bays. The closed truss, parts of the wall plates and a fragmentary post survive in situ. Insufficient evidence survives to reconstruct the framing pattern of the walls with confidence. On the east side a roughly three metre length of wall plate remains, extending roughly equally to either side of the east post. Peg hole evidence on this timber suggests that braces rose from the post and were double pegged at the wall plate. North of the north brace further single pegs suggest two studs only about 30cm apart; immediately north of the north stud, a short length of mortise visible at the truncated end of the wall plate probably indicates the position of a brace to the former next post to the north. Of the west wall plate only about a metre and a half south of the truss survives. It has two pegs towards its south end.
The closed truss consists of a cambered tie beam, principal rafters and a king post, with two straight down braces from each side of the king post to the tie beam. These down braces are parallel to the principal rafters and provide a decorative chevron effect. The upper pair of braces are of slighter scantling than the lower pair. The king post is flared very slightly towards the top. A straight brace rises from the king post to the ridge purlin on the north side. The mortise in the king post is visible on its south face but it would appear that there was no brace on the south side, as the north brace fills this mortise. The truss carries a single set of trenched purlins. A few of the original common rafters remain; one, which has probably been re used from a medieval common rafter roof, has a redundant halving joint.
Below tie beam level, little of the frame has survived. The top 80cm or so of the east post survives but the form of the jowl is obscured by later work. Peg holes on the tie beam suggests that braces rose from the posts to the tie beam, where they were double pegged. The original infill was of daub on staves which were sprung into grooves in the side of the truss timbers. |