Premises and building occupied by Spar Grocers

Cadw's description

Location

Situated attached to the Broad Street side of Colomendy and to left of railed garden.

History

Large late C18 three storey house, with fine early C19 shopfront, formerly owned by the Powis estate. A grocers premises since the earlier C19, established by Elizabeth James (1794-1884), wife of David James (1794-1855), manager of the tanyard, who came to the town in 1816 and is listed as occupant 1839. She was sister to the noted preacher the Rev Humphrey Gwalchmai, and they set up the Calvinistic Methodist chapel in the town, initial services being held in their rented house. Elizabeth James, listed in 1858-9 directory, was followed by William Gwalchmai James and his sister Sarah, then Robert Evans, listed in 1880, then Thomas Soley, and then the Roberts family. Building has lower eaves and lower pitched roof than Colomendy to left.

Exterior

House and shop. Red brick, Flemish bond, with slate roof and nogged brick eaves. Red brick chimney on roof slope between first and second bays. Three storeys, three bays, with wider spacing to left. Windows have brick flat heads, 6-pane square sashes to top floor, 12-pane sashes to first floor, with stone sills. Ground floor has house door to left of fine earlier C19 shop front of shop-window between two doors. All three doors have fine overlight tracery with octagonal wheel motif at centre. The house door to left has modern 6-panel fixed door. Shopfront to middle and right have modern 6-panel outer doors (the right one dummy) and broad rectangular 50-pane shop window, all in common framework of panelled thin pilasters, fascia and cornice, broken forward over the four pilasters. Rubble stone right end wall with one inserted window in blue brick surround. Rear wall is white painted with two modern top floor windows. Brick rear NE wing of two storeys with lower brick end range with rebuilt gables on N side and W end.

Stone setts in front.

Interior

Ground floor altered as shop. Two iron columns behind shop window. One heavy N-S beam in rear room.

Reason for designation

Included as a substantial late Georgian house with consisted exterior character and exceptional surviving shopfront.