17 High Street

Cadw's description

Location

On the S side of the High Street opposite its junction with Dark Street.

History

Very large later C19 complex of shops and warehouse, with street front and a high narrow rear court. Built for Ellis & Co, wholesale grocers and merchants , to designs by D.E. Thomas of Haverfordwest in 1876-7. In 1876 advertisements for tenders were made for designs by W. Gaskell of Cardiff, but the account of the opening credits D.E. Thomas with the design, built by James Thomas. There was a timber-framed building, used as a reading-room and billiard-room for gentlemen for the previous century, on the site. The premises were on an exceptional scale, the site of 60 by 145 ft(18.3x44.2m), the heightr of 60 ft(18.3m). There were two departments on the ground floor, retail and wholesale, the fittings in pitch pine with mahogany and marble counter tops. Philip Ellis founded the business in 1852 but was bankrupt by 1885. The premises were sold in 1893 for £3,350, having cost about £10,000 to build. The next owners were Reeves Bros, grocers.

Exterior

Commercial premises, large scale painted stucco with slate roofs behind parapets. Three brick chimneys. Four-storey, five-bay front with two windows per bay, plate glass sashes. Three superimposed orders of pilasters: to ground floor, middle two floors and top floor, each with a heavy cornice broken forward over the pilasters. The pilasters of the two main floors have a little zig-zag and roundel decoration. The two floors have a minor order of pilasters at each level, with moulded band between. The slightly wider centre pier has an additional applied pilaster. The top floor has similar detail, but some mouldings removed in left two bays. Ground floor has three-bay shopfront each side of a tall throughway. Heavy cornice with fluted modillions. Four thicker pilasters framing throughway and shopfronts and two small pilasters framing the shop door of each shop, raised on a plinth of painted tolled grey limestone. Plate glass shop windows with curved upper corners, recessed doors with similar tall overlights. Throughway has a pair of big boarded doors, cambered headed.
Throughway gives access to a narrow rear court flanked on both sides by tall rubble-stone four-storey ranges with 12-pane sashes in brick surrounds, loading doors in outermost bay each side. Ground floors much altered. One-window range of similar windows to rear of front range, above throughway, which has metal lintel.

Interior

Interior not inspected.

Reason for designation

Included for special architectural interest as a remarkably large Victorian shop and warehouse building, and retaining its character along with good stucco detail.