Charles I is rumoured to have stayed in a 'spectacular' Southam building which has been restored to its 16th century glory and is now a focal point of the town centre.
No-one had any idea about the architectural splendour of the Manor House - home to Southam Pharmacy - until a piece of lime-rendering fell off the front wall last March.
Underneath, conservationists were given a tantalising glimpse of intricate oa
k wood-work from the days of the Stuarts.
Dudley Taylor Pharm-acies, who own the building, decided to strip the 200-year-old rendering - itself of architectural interest - from the walls and are funding its restoration.
Blue netting covering the Grade II listed house on the corner of Market Hill was removed just before Christmas and manager of 19 years Ajit Barot is thrilled with the response.
He said: “Nobody really appreciated what was underneath - it’s absolutely fantastic.
“The whole town is really excited about it, it’s a real treasure trove.
“Lots of amateur historians have been trying to find out more about the building, no one has come up with a date yet, but it has been suggested that Charles I stayed here before the battle of Edge Hill.
“The dispensary is higher than the rest of the floor because there is a cellar underneath and it is thought that tunnels might have linked it to the Old Mint and the church.”
Kenilworth carpenter Chris Harwood has been restoring the timber framing that Charles I would have seen if he did indeed lodge there before the first battle of the English Civil War in 1642.
Mr Harwood said: “You don’t often get the opportunity to work on a 400-year-old building all the time. It’s fantastic. We are replacing any wood that is really rotten and are using special preservatives to stop the wood deteriorating.”
Attic windows boarded up in the days of window taxation have been revealed along with plinths for stone gargoyles - which are going to be replaced.
Stratford District Council conservation officer John Marshall has been monitoring the restoration since the start of the project.
He said: “We granted permission for the lime-rendering to be removed as we could see there was wooden framing of a highly decorative and unusual quality underneath.
“We are very excited about it. The rendering itself was old enough to be listed and was recorded by building archaeologists.
“It’s a very fine timber-framed house of the 16th or early 17th century and someone spent a lot of money on it in one go.
“It’s such a spectacular piece of work that it must be one of the finest examples in the district. I would expect the craftsman that did it to have come from a city and it was probably owned by a wealthy merchant of some kind.
“The owner is to be congratulated for investing so heavily in the building and in its restoration.”
Customer Joan Parish, 84, who has lived in the town for 25 years, said: “It’s so wonderful. It is such a shame it was covered up for so long.
The full article contains 533 words and appears in Leamington Courier newspaper.
