1 Pryor Street

Location

Located at the S end of Prior Street, close to its junction with St Peter's Square.

History

A shop with 2-storey house over. A former smithy adjoins to the rear, reached by a wide through-passage on the R-hand side of the shop. The shop and former smithy were converted to a dwelling in the mid-late C20, the house above (No. 1A) in separate ownership. The front is probably mid-C19, but perhaps C18 inside; some stop-chamfered ceiling beams were found in the shop.

Exterior

A narrow gable-fronted 3-storey 1-window block; 2-storey 2-window range to R, including through-passage to former smithy. Constructed of brick, rendered to ground floor, white-painted above, under a slate roof; tall brick stack to rear of narrow block, and brick stack to R, on roof pitch. Former shop front has central late C20 half-glazed door in a rendered surround. Late C20 wooden window to L, with small top-hung lights, replacing former modern shop window. To R of centre, a 2nd doorway leading to house above, containing a half-glazed panelled door in a wooden doorcase, the pilasters decorated with circles. The 1st floor of the house has a large canted oriel window, 4-light with large panes; small 4-pane sash with segmental head to 2nd floor. The R-hand return, facing N, has a large 4-pane sash with segmental head to 2nd floor. The L-hand return is rendered, the ground floor abutted by a garage. Five motifs to front, possibly tie-plates, crosses flanking oriel window, diamonds flanking upper sash, and circle to gable apex. Range to R is rendered to ground floor with a late C20 top-hung wooden window as L; to the R is wide opening to through-passage with segmental brick relieving arch over double boarded doors. Upper storey of this range has 2 x 4-pane sashes, immediately under the eaves. Rear of through-passage has double boarded doors under a flat head, with metal casement window to upper storey. This range forms the S end of a terrace, which continues down Prior Street.

Former smithy to rear, parallel with main range, and of one-and-a-half storeys, originally with open roof. Gable-fronted with entrance facing N, rendered under an artificial slate roof. Openings renewed in mid-late C20 with wooden plain-glazed casements. The entrance front has a boarded door with small light to R and a tall window to L, both under segmental heads of stone voussoirs. Mid-late C20 oriel window to gable above. The W side has a 2-light casement to upper storey, the ground floor abutted by a single-storey block with corrugated roof at right-angles, which includes a boarded door in angle to L, and a plain-glazed window.

Interior

Interior of smithy is modernised and converted to accommodation.

Reason for designation

Listed notwithstanding loss of detail as a house with earlier origins, raised and adapted in the mid C19 to form a house and shop, the tall narrow form of particular interest; the smithy to rear retains its form but is otherwise altered.