8 High Street

Cadw's description

Location

On the N side of the High Street some 40m E of the Church of Saint Mary.

History

Former Post Office of 1879-80 by D. E. Thomas of Haverfordwest. A top floor was added to the High Street front c. 1910. Used as Labour Exchange after the new Post Office was built in 1936. Upper floors now flats. The building replaced two timber-framed houses.

Exterior

Former Post Office, painted stucco with slate roofs. Large four-storey, six-bay facade with ornate Italianate detail to the original three-storey front. Plate glass sash windows. Plain 6-window added attic floor with cornice and parapet. Main floors have outer bays slightly projected with cornices above ground and second floors, broken forward over outer bays. Ground floor outer bays are framed by channelled pilasters and have doorways with thin cornices and roundel above. Big 9-panel doors. Centre is divided in three with broad centre bay (corresponding to two windows above) thick similar channelled pilasters and outer tall sash windows with pilaster jambs, cornice and lunette over with moulded arch and keystone. Centre has broad lower sash (replacing former double doors with overlight) flanked by pilasters with narrow blind side panels (former side-lights) and pilaster responds, the blind panels with a transom marking former top-lights. Above is a cornice (slightly below level of flanking window cornices but aligned with outer door-heads) under a blind rectangular panel with two squat pilasters and thin pilaster outer responds. The squat pilasters formerly framed the royal coat-of-arms. The next two floors have channelled outer bays with pedimented surround to first floor window and moulded architrave to window above each side, while four-bay centre has two giant pilasters framing centre two bays, first floor windows with flat cornices on console brackets and second floor windows in architraves. Second floor sill band is broken for pilasters, and broken forward across outer bays.
Rear to Dark Street has four storey, six-bay elevation with superimposed giant pilasters with frieze and cornice, four pilasters framing basement and ground floors, four slightly smaller framing upper two floors. Top parapet. Six long plate glass sashes per floor. Basement has door in centre, 3 windows to left, two to right.

Interior

Interior not inspected.

Reason for designation

Included for its special architectural interest as an imposing later C19 public building which has retained its character.