Answer January 2020

The clue shows the central datestone embedded above the doorways of numbers 29 and 31 Hallstile Bank.  You don’t need to crick your neck to see this, unlike clues in some of the previous building tests. However, you may be puffing your way up Hallstile Bank and not looking around. Here’s a reason to stop and gather your breath while looking at these houses.

This is a group of 4 houses, Nos. 27 – 33, with a single design from the architect Charles Clements Hodges for Thomas Ellis (the “TE” in the datestone). Thomas Ellis was a successful painter and decorator and long-serving Churchwarden at the Abbey, whose family had lived in Hallstile Bank since the 19th century. 

If you’d like to know more, take a look at the Hallstile Bank Buildings section on the HLHS website (click here – opens in a new tab).

If you have any comments, please leave a Reply below.

Thanks to Stefan for the photos.