1 Alma Street

Cadw's description

Location

On the corner of Alma Street and Castle Street, and the N end of a terrace at the W end of The Green.

History

Alma Street, Bulkeley Terrace and Raglan Street constitute a major residential development built along the sea front from the mid 1850s. The development was initiated by the Baron Hill estate, who owned most of the small dwellings shown in the vicinity on the 1829 town plan, and who originally let the new houses on 80-year leases. The houses exploited the potential of a prime site between the Bulkeley Hotel to the E and public baths to the W. They were a major element in the mid C19 transformation of Beaumaris into a middle-class seaside resort and of its strong Georgian architectural character.

Alma Street was probably built soon after 1854 and the Crimean war battle from which it derives its name. The 1861 town plan shows it to have been the earliest of the terraces to be completed.

Exterior

Belongs to a group of 1-4 Alma Street.

A terrace of 4 late-Georgian style 3-storey houses, of scribed roughcast (with renewed render to No 1) on a painted freestone plinth, hipped slate roof and roughcast stacks. Nos 1-3 are 2-bay houses. They have doors under round-headed overlights to the R side, of which No 1 retains its original door with round-headed panels, No 2 has a replacement marine-style door and No 3 has an early C20 half-glazed panel door. On the L side are 12-pane hornless sashes. Above are 2-light oriel windows to first-floor sitting rooms, centrally placed to No 1 but offset to the L side in Nos 2 and 3. In the upper storey are 9-pane hornless sashes. Basement windows are in the L-hand bay under 4-centred arches. No 1 has a replacement window and Nos 2 and 3 have small-pane windows.

The 2-bay R end wall, facing Castle Street, has blind windows except for a 12-pane hornless sash to the R in the middle storey and shorter 12-pane hornless sash window above it. Set back further R is a 2-storey extension in similar style, with half-glazed door and small-pane sash windows.

No 4 is larger, a 3-bay house with wider advanced L-hand bay. It has a central panel door and round-headed overlight. Outer bays have 12-pane hornless sash windows in the lower and middle storeys. In the upper storey is a 9-pane sash window to the R and blocked L-hand window with painted glazing bars. Basement windows to the L, and replacing the coal-hole to the R, have modern glazing. In the 2-bay L end wall, facing the sea, is an added conservatory and replacement windows.

Interior

The lower storey has been converted to offices, with a separate dwelling on the upper floors. The original plan is nevertheless retained, having a dog-leg stair with square newel, plain balusters and panelled tread ends.

Reason for designation

Nos 1-4 Alma Street are listed for their special architectural interest as a mid C19 terrace of definite quality and character, part of a larger development including Bulkeley Terrace and Raglan Street that makes an important contribution to the historical integrity and architectural character of Beaumaris sea front.