76 Hill Street

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Three storey shop (+ attic) with decorative render details on west side of Hill Street.

Pitched natural slate roof with brick chimney to right gable and cement render chimney to left. Cyma recta, cast metal rainwater goods (down pipe shared with no 74) on stepped eaves course.

Walls are render; V-channelled banded rustication to ground floor and first floor and lined to upper floor with projecting eaves course. Ground floor is dominated by a modern shopfront, with door to upper floors at left. Shop front has recessed central door with two windows to façade and flanking each side of door. Shop front is all modern, with older posts supporting a fascia, now covered by a plastic sign box running across facade. Doorway to upper floors has a plain transom over pair of modern three panelled stained timber doors. There are two nameboards attached to wall to left of door. At first floor there are four equally spaced windows. Each is 2/2 (horizontally divided) sliding sash without horns, with painted render cills, and set within moulded render architrave, with entablature supported on consoles. Consoles have foliated end with bird motif. There are windows to second floor, in line with those below but diminished in height. Each is 2/1 sliding sash with moulded architraves, decorative projecting keyblocks, painted render cills and flat apron panel connecting cill to top of entablature below. Modern hanging sign in centre of façade between first floor windows.

Left and right gables form party walls with adjacent properties.

Rear elevation was impossible to access, but internal inspection suggests the following configuration: Rear wall is abutted to ground floor by a modern single store extension. Abutting to extreme left of first floor is a small return with blank rear wall and left cheek. Its right cheek has two small sliding sash windows. First floor right bay, has a tall 1/1 sliding sash window with no horns. First floor left bay has a 1/1 sliding sash window. To centre bay at half landing level between first and second floors is a semicircular headed, Georgian glazed sliding sash window. Second floor, to right bay is a 1/1 sliding sash window. There is a similar 1/1 window to left bay. In central bay between second floor and attic is a fixed semicircular window.

Historical information

Shown on 1835 OS map. 1863 valuation indicated that it was a dwelling, 3 ¾ storeys high, and that what is now no.74 was a warehouse associated with it (HB16/28/040). The latter became a separate entity about 1865.

Primary Sources:

1.OS map 1835 edition, PRONI- OS 9/15/1/1;
2.Valuation revision books, 1866-1930, PRONI - VAL 2B/3/69G, p.20 (1863 valuation);
3.Valuation revision books, 1866-1930, PRONI - VAL 12B/22/16A, p.7 (1866 valuation).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Three storey shop (+ attic) with decorative render details. Pleasantly detailed commercial building but not of sufficient quality to justify listing. Shop front is modern and much of the interior is unsympathetically altered.