The Arcade

Cadw's description

Location

Situated at west end of terraced row, close to junction with Cowell Street.

History

1894-5 shopping arcade by Williams Griffiths of Llanelli, with 3-storey 3-bay front to Stepney Street and 2-storey galleried arcade behind with glazed roof, back to former Frederick Street. Slate roofs.

Exterior

Facade to Stepney Street is in red brick with Bath stone dressings and has plain modern parapet replacing original cornice. Ground floor has shop each side, the original detail all boxed-in and centre broad entry under first floor stilted arch, with flat ceiling to entry, recessed ashlar panel above and glazing to arch. First floor each side has tripartite sashes in ashlar frames with carved caps and stilted flat heads. Pilasters each side of centre bay, dentil cornice broken forward over pilasters and outer windows. Top floor centre tripartite window in ashlar frame with stilted heads and carved caps to piers, outer 4-light arcaded windows with moulded ashlar arched heads, keystones, outer stone piers with carved caps and three cast-iron columns between.

Interior

Arcade interior has very attractive galleries on both sides with timber balustrades and matching bridges across at each end. Shopfronts with bracketted cornice under gallery and first floor set-back with doors and timber mullion-and transom windows to offices, cornice on fretted brackets and simple gabled glazed roof on cast-iron rafters. Shopfronts are mostly altered but originally had dividing pilasters, plate glass shopwindows with slim column shafts, recessed doors, top-lights to shop window and overlight to door. No 4 is complete, No 5 may survive under later boxing, Nos 2 and 3 have only slim column shafts surviving, Nos 1, 6 and 7 are all altered, No 8 has column shafts each corner, Nos 9 and 20 altered. On east side between 8 and 9 are dog leg stairs to gallery. Gallery has 5 doors each side and mostly 3-light mullion and transom timber windows. North end balcony has two doors to toilets, south end has broad landing under plastered arch, 2 doors to south, one to east and, to west, door and 18-pane shopwindow.

Plain stuccoed rear with gabled centre.

Reason for designation

A good, little altered example of late C19 arcade.