15 Church Street

Cadw's description

Location

Fronting the street in a block of buildings between Margaret Street and the parish church.

History

Interior detail shows Nos 13-15 Church Street to be of C18 origin, and possibly that No 15 was built with its gable end facing the street, but was remodelled in the C19. No 15 is shown on the 1829 town plan as an Armory, occupied by the County Treasurer. The present frontage is later and was probably altered when the premises became shops. By 1886 No 15 was a grocer's shop and was refreshment rooms in 1910.

Exterior

Belongs to a group of 13-15 Church Street.

An asymmetrical pair of 2½-storey shops with houses in late Georgian style, of pebble-dashed front painted light brown, with white smooth-rendered surrounds, slate roof and end roughcast stacks. In the 4-window front No 13 is to the L. It has an advanced bay on the L side with rusticated pilasters and beneath a hipped roof. A shop front has faceted pilasters and a thin fascia and cornice over a plate-glass window with narrow hopper window above it, and a half-glazed door to its L under an overlight boarded over. The upper storey has a hornless 16-pane sash window. The entrance to the house is set back on the R, a fielded-panel door under a radial-glazed overlight.

No 15 has a single entrance to shop and house on the L side, comprising double panelled doors, of which the lower panels are fielded, and overlight. To the R is a 3-light shop window with narrow light above a transom, panelled pilasters, fascia with end panels and moulded cornice. In the upper storey is a 12-pane hornless sash window over the entrance, to the R of which are 2 replacement small-pane top-hung casement windows. The attic has 3 gabled dormers with small-2-light windows, the L-hand within the advanced bay to the L.

No 15 has a 2½-storey rear wing, to which a lower 2-storey wing has been added, which has modern windows in its gable end. Both wings are rendered. No 13 also has a whitened render 2½-storey rear wing with end roughcast stacks and replacement windows. Offset to its R side is a further, later 2-storey wing, which retains a 4-pane sash window in the upper storey but otherwise has modern detail.

Interior

The ground floor is now a single room but was formerly 2 rooms, each with timber lintel to the fireplace. A straight stair, with plain balusters and newels, leads to the first floor. The front room in the upper storey has 2 stop-chamfered cross beams. A dog-leg stair leads to the attic. In the rear wing is an C18 truss with dovetailed collar beam.

Reason for designation

Listed, notwithstanding modern upper windows, for its special architectural interest as a C19 shop of house retaining definite character and detail, with significant earlier origin, and for its contribution to the historical integrity of Church Street.