Houses in West Street - Hopper Head No. 120
An ogee gutter at the rear of No 120 discharges into a cast lead hopper head at the boundary between No. 120 and No. 118.
Close up detail of the hopper head shows that it bears three designs in
relief. That top left seems to be a winged gryphon with a long looped tail, and lower left may be a mermaid.
D\B\bw/CL34 in the SRO is a bundle of six documents relating to transactions
of a messuage or tenement on the north side of West Street containing by
estimation one and one half burgage, folio 267 in the Corporation Survey
Book.
That dated 16 July 1682 is signed and sealed by Ferdinando
Anderdon. The seal, impressed in red wax, shows a head and a wing. A further lease dated 30 July 1697 counterpart bears the same signature and a well preserved seal.
Ferdinando Anderdon is described as goldsmith in SRO A\ANJ/1 . We may presume he understood working in lead also!
The impression in the wax seal is very similar to that on the hopper
head.
The remaining documents in D\B\bw/CL34 show that the same
property passed to Ferdinando Anderdon's son Dr John Anderdon (Counterpart
Lease of 1 February 1727; different seal with armorial device; Dr John
Alderdon released a house at the Castle SRO DD\X\RIC/1 and DD\X\WBB/266/1), then to his son
Charles Anderdon (Counterpart Lease 27 February 1758) and finally to Charles
Proctor Anderdon in a printed lease from the Mayor Aldermen & Burgesses of
4th March 1812 (flattened seal).
A separate bundle of deeds
(solicitor's collection) SRO DD\CH/104/4 (West Street Corporation Survey
Book folio 269) makes reference to an adjacent messuage etc "formerly
belonging to the Representatives of Charles Proctor Anderdon now in
possession of Mr Thomas Danger" (26 September 1827) and "lately
purchased by Mr Thomas Plowman " (3 September 1866).
Web page updated 10 September 2007
