House and G.H. Edwards Newsagents

Cadw's description

Location

Prominently sited at the SW end of High Street, on the corner of Lancaster Square.

History

Built in the final decade of the C19 or first decade of the C20, and shown on the 1913 Ordnance Survey. An early photograph shows the Lancaster Square elevation with a veranda of only 1 bay. This had been extended to 3 bays by 1911, an alteration that also included a new 3-light shop window and movement of the house entrance to the L end. A photograph of 1911 shows the building, occupied by Dunphy & Sons wine & spirit merchants, with ornate vallance to the veranda.

Exterior

A 2½-storey shop and house of whitened roughcast walls with rusticated quoins, slate roof hipped to the corner and on boarded eaves, with terracotta ridge tiles and finials. It has a brick ridge stack to the centre of the High Street elevation, and L end stack to Lancaster Square. The High Street front is a 2-window elevation. The shop has plate-glass windows, on thin turned posts with fretwork brackets, and central half-glazed panel doors and overlight. House windows are horned sashes. In the first floor they are in canted oriels with hipped tile roofs, and have a distinctive glazing pattern of 12 over 2 panes in the top sash, single pane in the bottom sash. The attic windows are segmental-headed, in moulded architraves in half dormers with simple barge boards and finials. They have 8 panes in the top sash and single pane in the bottom sash.

In the 3-window Lancaster Square elevation is a 3-light shop window with details similar to High Street. At the L end is a panelled house door and overlight. The 1st floor has oriel windows similar to High Street, flanking a central blank raised panel (formerly painted). The attic has 2 half-dormers similar to High Street, between which is a segmental-headed stair window in a moulded architrave, and with the same distinctive glazing pattern as the dormers.

A lean-to cast iron veranda is wrapped around both elevations. It has round posts with capitals, above which was once a vallance. In the Lancaster Square elevation the centre and L-hand bays are higher and later, supported at the end on a scrollwork cast iron bracket.

Interior

Not inspected.

Reason for designation

Listed for its special architectural interest as a well-preserved commercial and residential building on a prominent corner site, retaining definite architectural character and making a strong contribution to the historical townscape of Lancaster Square and High Street.