13 St. Peter's Street
(part of the High Street, towards the Westgate)
Typical early 1600s house / shop along the High Street
This is a typical 1600 house/shop, with
a long frontage and living quarters for the shop owner
above.
Note the gables - the exposed triangular parts under the
roof, which before this period were not often left exposed,
as it meant the weather could get in.
These gables were protected above the top
windows by 'barge boards' - in this case beautifully carved
(see photo on left)
For other carved barge boards see, for example,
28 Palace Street. This building
also has a single long jetty along the street front.
A fascinating
feature is the eye-level windows on the first floor (filled
in) to the right of the main window - common in that period
so people could look out without being seen. These are often
called 'clerestories' (e.g. by Quiney, see bibliography).
Compare the ones at 28 Palace Street.
It has two examples of well-carved demons,
as seen above, one male and the other female. Note the cloven
hooves. Compare these with the demons carved on 28
Palace Street and 8 Palace Street.
See the page on woodcarving
for more carving in Canterbury.
