Cwm Eithin, including forecourt walls and railings

Cadw's description

Location

Set back from the road behind a low brick forecourt wall with surmounting railings.

History

Terrace of six Victorian houses, built c1870 as a speculative development close to the (now demolished) railway station of 1861-2, and essentially unaltered since. The terrace consists of 4 two-and-a-half storey houses arranged as a reflected group, with two further 3 storey houses adjoining at the lower (NE) end, also planned as a reflected pair. The latter are more substantial, with extra height to the upper floors and with 2-storey bays. However, they are clearly contemporary with the remainder and were doubtless designed together as a coherent group.

Exterior

Belongs to a group of 6.

Nos 66-76 Vale Street (Windsor Terrace).

Of brick construction with glazed brick facades, those to the upper 4 with additional decorative banding in yellow and blue bricks; continuous slate roof with end and shared chimneys, the latter staged, and with banding to the upper 4 and oversailing and laced courses to no's 74-6 (the chimneys to no's 68 and 70 have been reduced slightly). Oversailing and corbelled eaves, all save the latter pair with additional banding. The ground floor of each house is raised up slightly above a basement floor and is accessed via a flight of low parapeted steps.

The upper 4 are arranged so that no's 66 and 68 are reflected by no's 70 and 72; each unit is of 2 bays with arched entrances, those to the central two correspondingly paired. The latter have large segmentally-arched, tripartite windows with expressed keys and imposts to the arches, whilst the outer two have single-storey canted bay windows with flat, parapeted roofs. Recessed original doors with tall glazed upper panles and plain-glazed segmental overlights;plain Victorian sashes throughout. The second floor has 2 segmentally-arched windows to each of the central pair (no's 68 and 70), and paired and single arched windows to the outer units (no's 66 and 72); banding at sill and springing level. Each unit has a large glazed dormer to the attic floor with hipped, slated roofs having oversailing, corbelled eaves and finials; arched lights, paired to the front and 4-light to the sides.

The lower pair (no's 74 and 76) have entrances as before and 2-storey canted bays to the R and L respectively. These have hipped slate roofs and oversailing, corbelled eaves, with stone sillcourses returned onto the main facade as decorative terracotta banding. Single and paired first-floor sashes to the L and R units respectively, the latter (no. 74) with an additional entrance to the ground floor, similar to and immediately to the R of the main entrance; this is a through-passage door which gives access to the rear. The second floor has paired small rectangular windows and paired arched windows to each, the latter above the bays. These have large gables over them with deep verges and cusped and pierced bargeboards, with geometric pendant-finials; decorative terracotta rosettes in the gable apexes. Plain sashes and projecting stone sills throughout.

Each house within the terrace has low brick forecourt walls with sandstone copings; all save no.74 with simple surmounting railings.

Reason for designation

Listed for its special interest as forming part of a good, unaltered mid-Victorian terrace.

Group value with other listed items in Vale Street.