44 Bridge Street

Cadw's description

Location

Attached to R of No 42 which is on the corner with Powell Street.

History

Probably late C18, when Bridge Street was the most prestigious area of Aberystwyth. On Map of 1809 with present ground plan. The front was remodelled in the late C19 with the addition of a central splayed bay window, and Italianate mouldings. According to Douglas Hague, a town council policy insisted on the addition of bay windows in houses around 1900 as their leases expired.

Exterior

House. Three storeys plus attic. Slate roof with bracketed eaves; very large stone chimney; small gabled dormer. Street front is smooth render over stone; quoins and stringcourses. Four-pane horned sash windows with hoodmoulds. Three-window front with central three-storey shallow splayed bay window. To L, doorway with bracketed cornice, and panelled pilasters; 4-panelled door (upper panels glazed); rectangular overlight. Exposed stone rear with 4-pane sash windows at stepped levels.

Interior

The entrance hall has a simple moulded plaster arch with timber pilasters decorated with Greek key design, leading to an open well staircase with a moulded timber handrail, spiraling at the bottom newel, supported by plain balusters and simply turned newel posts.

The front reception room retains panelled reveals and soffits to the windows and a six-panelled door with an architrave decorated with a design of incised lines. There is a central plaster ceiling rose of classical design, moulded cornicing, picture rail and skirting, and two round headed alcoves either side of the chimneybreast, one with a fitted cupboard of late 19th century date. The fireplace is a 20th century replacement, dating to the 1930-50's, being a tiled surround of geometrical design. The rear reception room retains a timber fire surround of late Victorian or Edwardian date, with an integrated, circular overmantle mirror, and with a tiled insert, probably of a 1930's date. Six-panelled doors, and moulded cornicing, picture rail and skirting of 19th century date remain. The kitchen is located in the rear range, and houses fitted units of 1950's or 1960's date.

The cellar rooms are reached by a set of internal stairs leading from the rear of the entrance hall, or from a set of external stone steps to the rear of the house. The front room was originally lit by two cellar lights on the street frontage, one of which has been subsequently blocked, while the rear room contains a large brick and stone fireplace, to one side of which is a washing copper heated from below by a small fireplace.

There are two large bedrooms on the first floor, one retaining a painted Victorian timber fire surround, the fire opening blocked, and the grate possibly removed. The reveals for the windows have moulded architraves, and there are six-panelled doors, also in moulded architraves and fitted cupboards of late 19th/early 20th century date.

The attic contains two King Post trusses, both with an interrupted strut to allow access through the roof space. In the east wall of the attic straight joint is visible in the stone work, suggesting that the massive stone chimney predates the existing house.

Reason for designation

Georgian town house retaining much character and Group Value with adjacent Listed buildings in Bridge Street.