57 Church Street, today known as the Crown Post restaurant, is a fascinating jigsaw of parts that goes all the way back to the early 15th century – making it one of the earliest buildings standing in Harwich today.

Remarkably a large section of the 15th century timber frame survives and poses many questions about the origins and function of this property as well as the development of Harwich itself.

Many potted histories of Harwich declare that the “streets are laid out in a medieval grid iron pattern” which could imply that town planners back in the 12th century created a street layout that exists to this day. Whilst this has a certain truth about it when we look at the oldest buildings we realise that Harwich in the 15th and 16th century was nowhere nearly as densely built up as it is today and houses within the old walled town had gardens, outbuildings and views across the town down to the all-important harbour.

57 Church Street is a great example of that alternate plan because the surviving 15th century fabric was part of a building that once aligned to face up Church Street towards the Quay as opposed to being perpendicular to the road as today.

The reason for this isn’t entirely clear but the leading theory is that the building once stood on the edge of the old market area which stretched from Church Street to Kings Head Street, centred on Market Street. This gives us a picture of a grand building with views across the market area and down to the Quay.

If you walk in through the front of the building today you are entering a 19th century frontage. We can see this on a large number of late 19th and early 20th century postcards when photographers arrived to capture the bustling streets with shops, sailors and St. Nicholas Church as subjects and backdrop. At ground floor level it is difficult to see the older building and the front range that you walk into is later 16th or early 17th century – the realignment that saw the building face into Church Street. The rear of the building has also been rebuilt but the first floor restaurant has much of the centre of the 15th century building intact.

At first floor level we see that a large window looking out over what is now the Stingray public house next door and the storey had a jetty overhanging the ground floor frame to this aspect. This jetty now cuts into the Stingray as a flying freehold.

The exposed timbers upstairs suggest that the original building could have extended to the west and after the large window to the north was blocked up windows were inserted to the south – perhaps to overlook a courtyard and provide some light.

In 1921 55 and 56 Church Street were demolished, having been acquired by the Co-op, to build a new public house on the site. Luckily a Royal Commission on the Historic Monuments of England survey happened to be taking place at the time and old rear range of 57, complete with jetty, is recorded for posterity.

The building was acquired by Jamie Shrive in 2005 and after a 5 year renovation project, which saved this historic property from demolition, it opened as the Crown Post restaurant.

We currently have no candidates for the first four hundred years of the building’s existence because it is difficult to link owners, tenants and property in the town as it developed. Church Street was renumbered in the 1850s and this allows us to link buildings and people with much greater certainty.

In 1861 we find 57 Church Street is a shop with accommodation “To Let” – located between Richard Gooding the butcher and Frederick Everard the tailor.

The 1871 census shows that Thomas Blosse, a “hair cutter and tobacconist” has moved in with his family and a subdivision of the property accommodates Sarah Stebbing and her daughter Louisa. Sarah is listed as a “mariners wife” so it is probable that her husband was away at sea.

In 1881 we find that the 20 year old daughter of Thomas, Emma Blosse, is running the shop, listed simply as “tobacconist”, but also resident are her two siblings Oliver and Minnie. We also find James Coombe, his wife Ellen and brother Thomas living there. James is a music teacher but Thomas is a hairdresser – leading to the theory that he has taken over Thomas Blosse’s chair.

In 1891 we see the return of Mary Blosse, widow of Thomas Blosse, in residence working as a tobacconist at the shop with her daughter Emma. Mary and Thomas’ son, Oliver, is also resident and listed as a hairdresser, Minnie has turned 18 and listed as a dressmaker and youngest daughter Bertha is listed as “mother’s help”.

In 1901 Minnie Blosse is listed as head of household and “shop keeper tobacconist”, assisted by her sister Bertha and with their nephew Albert Holmes, aged 5, living with them.

In 1911 Minnie was still running the tobacconist business assisted by her nephew Albert and with boarder, William Haste, cutting hair.

When Minnie Blosse dies in 1935 the business continues to be run by Albert Holmes who is listed as “master hairdresser”.

Some 70 years later, when the building was renovated, the trappings of the Blosse era – tobacconist shop in the front and hairdressers at the rear were still present.

57 Church Street was surveyed and interpreted as part of the Harwich Architectural Survey Project which was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

An interpretation of the buildings by Brenda and Elphin Watkin is available for download here.

A supplemental interpretation document by Brenda and Elphin Watkin is available for download here.