St Catherine's House, including area railings

Cadw's description

Location

Situated to the SW of Castle Hill, on the N side of the approach to the castle remains and just to the E of Castle Square.

History

One of a matching pair of houses said to date from 1861. Possibly built as coastguard houses as the Corporation in 1858 expressed regret to the Admiralty that such houses should be proposed on Castle Hill. Buildings are marked on the site on the 1849 map.

Exterior

House, left half of a pair of houses. Painted stucco with slate roofs, end stacks and ridge stack. Four storeys, basement and attic, each house of 2 window range with raised quoins, bands above ground, 2nd and 3rd floors, and parapet corbelled on paired plain blocks. Two gabled dormers each. Four-pane sashes to upper floor and inner bay of each house above doors in rusticated surrounds. Two-panel doors with overlights. Outer bays have 2-storey canted oriels with cornices and 2-4-2-pane sashes to first and second floors and ground floor broad tripartite 2-4-2-pane sash. Similar tripartite sash to basement, altered on No 2.
Slate-hung end walls and rear, the slate-hanging renewed in late C20. Rear is slate-hung to upper 3 storeys, with 12-pane sashes to each floor in outer bays, the centre bays with projected section presumably added, to upper floors. Dormers behind parapet.
Area railings have uprights with fleur-de-lys finials.

Interior

Entrance hall with staircase at back, stair with thick bulbous newel.

Reason for designation

Included as a very prominent and substantial mid Victorian pair of stuccoed houses of townscape importance.