The Merchant's House, Marlborough

The Merchant's House was built by Thomas Bayly after fire destroyed Marlborough High Street  on 28 April 1653. Rebuilt as a three-gabled timber frame under a tiled front the house retains unique 17th century wall paintings. Wet plaster on the attic partition was signed by William Brunsdon in 1656, confirming the house was rebuilt in under four years.

Two of the three gables passed to W H Smith in 1927, they moved out in 1988 and the House was leased by the Marlborough Merchant's House Trust. A 20 year project of conservation and repair began with the objective of displaying to the public the life of a wealthy silk merchant in the late 17th century.  The Trust have subsequently purchased the third gable to reunite the property.

Work has concentrated on recovering the 1656 layout, repairing the surviving internal fabric and included a major grant aided  programme for conservation  of the wall paintings.