in the 16th century. He acquired the site in 1794 and arranged for a private dwelling to be erected there in 1810. The property was acquired by an actor and theatre manager, David Fischer, in 1819, as part of a project to establish a chain of theatres across East Anglia. Fisher converted the property into two residential units and a theatre which opened as the "New Play House" later that year.

The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of seven bays