The Fox

Information

Location: Eastgate Street, Bury St Edmunds, Bury-St-Edmunds IP33 1XX

Built: 18th

Designer: Unknown

Type: urban

Density: 45 homes per hectare

Parking ratio: 125%

Pubs sharing street parking with nearby homes are common in historic development. Here a well detailed example has unallocated spaces in a communal area which is controlled for the benefit of residents outside the pub's peak business hours. The parking scheme adjoins a terrace of small cottages set back from the road, and immediately adjoining The Fox public house. The scaling of one cottage to another suggests an organic development of the terrace over the years, reinforced by variations in roof pitch and line between properties. The street consists of around 11 homes.

Prominent chimneys and traditional rainwater goods complete an impression of a small, historically correct village green settlement — but without the green itself. The car parking thus occupies the area of the 'missing' green. Intended for use by residents holding permits, it also offers 2 hours' free parking to others. Set around a horse trough asking that we “Be Merciful To Man And Beast”, the parking is arranged in two ranks of 45o angled bays, divided by a wider than usual carriageway; this can be accessed from two ends. The angled arrangement allows for a surprisingly generous number of spaces on this tight site.

The scheme is well detailed, with bays clearly marked by slightly raised stone strips. The main surface is gravel over blacktop, with low granite kerbs to the pavement in front of the cottages. The main road at this point is finished in square grey paviors, which change to a reddish colour at the crossovers into the parking area. The crossovers are very gradually sloped, and define the area of the zone immediately before the central carriageway between bays. Flush stone strips carried through the crossovers define front and back edges of the pavements. Pavements have a pronounced gutter zone laid to fall in natural stone.

The Fox dates from the 18th/19th century and so it is not possible to list the architect or developer responsible. The dwelling types can be described as 2,3 and 4-bed houses arranged in a 2-storey residential terrace.