- Merchant's House, Shepton Mallet
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Merchant's House 
The Merchants House South ElevationLocation: Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England Coordinates: 51°11′26″N 2°32′45″W / 51.19056°N 2.54583°WCoordinates: 51°11′26″N 2°32′45″W / 51.19056°N 2.54583°W Built: 17th century Listed Building – Grade II* Designated: 20 May, 1952[1] Reference #: 266469 
Location of Merchant's House in SomersetThe Merchant's House at Number 8, Market Place, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England was built around 1675 and has been designated as a Grade II* listed building.[1][2] The date of construction was confirmed by dendrochronology.[3]
When this fireplace broken and covered in lime-wash was discovered no one had seen this style of decoration before. Subsequent to its discovery in 1995 the building was regraded as a 2* from a grade 2.
It was built by Edward Strode[4] a wealthy landowner to be tenented.[5] Shepton Mallet was a wealthy town on the back of the wool trade so the south range of the house was almost certainly built for a wool merchant. The north was two tenements with two shop units.
Since 2004 the building has been renovated with around 5% funding from English Heritage and Mendip Council,[6] receiving the William Stansell/SBPT Building Award from the Somerset Buildings Preservation Trust in 2008.[7] In 2009 the renovation was recognised with a special award from Mendip Council.[8]
The restoration and conservation included 80 new leaded lights and 27 new metal casements.[9] The work undertaken was shown in a programme of the BBC2 series Restore to Glory. The building was in a parlous state prior to work and was included on both national and regional buildings at risk registers.
References
- ^ a b "No 8 Shepton Mallet Market Place". Images of England. English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=266469. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
- ^ "No 8, Market Place, Shepton Mallet". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Councl. http://webapp1.somerset.gov.uk/her/details.asp?prn=20119. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
- ^ "Shepton Mallet, 8 Market Place". Somerset. Oxford Tree-ring Laboratory. http://www.dendrochronology.net/somerset.asp. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
- ^ http://www.sheptonmallet.org/infopage.asp?infoid=190
- ^ "History". Merchant's House. http://www.merchants-house.co.uk/history.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
- ^ "The House". Merchant's House. http://www.merchants-house.co.uk/index.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
- ^ "William Stansell/SBPT Building Awards". Awards. Somerset Building Preservation Trust. http://www.sbpt.info/Awards.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
- ^ "Mendip Built in Quality Awards 2009". Mendip Council. http://www.mendip.gov.uk/CouncilService.asp?id=SX9452-A782C1D0. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
- ^ "Restoration projects". Wessex Conservation Stained Glass. http://www.wessexconservation.co.uk/5.html. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
Categories:- 17th-century architecture
- Grade II* listed buildings in Somerset
- Buildings and structures in Mendip
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