38 High Street

Cadw's description

Location

Situated on E side of junction with Orchard Street.

History

Corner house and shop, formerly The Crown Inn. First listed as an inn in 1826, in 1836 listed as an inn and another premises, owned by D Davies stonemason and then by his son to c1875; they were also coal merchants. The inn seems to have ceased c1860 and then become a grocer and sundries shop and tallow chandler. The premises look as if reconstructed as a shop rather than an inn, with later C19 character, though the rear wing to Orchard Street has an earlier character.

Exterior

Mid C19 house and shop with rear wing, in the Georgian tradition. High Street elevation 2-storey, and 2 wide bays. Fairly shallow-pitched slate gabled roof with grey brick chimneys to left and right. Deep eaves with paired eaves brackets. Painted stucco facade with plinth and long and short quoins to left and right (absent to left ground floor where shop front turns corner). Windows have square-headed moulded surrounds with white quartz stone inlay, and keystones. Two 12-pane hornless sashes to upper floor, and one to ground floor right. Ground floor right window is further right than upper right window which is over house door. C20 house door with overlight with arched lights. Shopfront occupies left half of ground floor with corniced fascia over, extended over house door. Shop front has recessed central C20 1/2 glazed shop door between 2-pane plate glass windows and a similar pane canted-in to shop door. A single pane on left hand return to Orchard Street. Shopfront has moulded sill.
Left gable end has long and short quoins, 2 bays with aligned 4-pane horned sashes with similar surrounds to those on front.
A lower rear wing has roof on line of those in Orchard Street, but with 3 small storeys rather than the 2 of the rest of the street. Deep eaves, two 4-pane sashes to each upper floor, the upper ones shorter, and one to ground floor centre, all without surrounds. Ground floor window is between 2 doorways: broad double doors to coach-entry to left and single house door with overlight to right. Raised plinth.

Interior

Iron columns visible inside shop windows. Shop has wooden floors and fittings.

Reason for designation

Included as C19 corner building with shop, retaining good later Georgian character.