5-5A Well Street

Cadw's description

Location

In a block of buildings fronting Well Street, towards the top of the hill.

History

Shops and flats; formerly known as Tudor House. Probably late C17 - a substantial and ambitious town house, with facade remodelling probably in the early C19. Later C19 alterations, including insertion of shop front to L. A photograph of c1942 shows the house with small-pane sashes under segmental head, including an additional smaller window to the upper storey. By the 1970s the building was in a neglected state and was restored c1978.

Exterior

Large asymmetrical block, 2-storey-with-attics, with 5 irregular windows. Rear staircase projection and wing. The front is of lined stucco on a plinth, the rear elevation of brick on a stone plinth. Hipped swept slate roof; 2 clustered brick stacks, ridge stack to L and end stack to R with saw-tooth band; dentilled eaves cornice; rusticated quoin strips; openings with wedge lintels. The attic has 4 gabled attic dormers with plain-glazed 2-light wooden casements and weather-boarded gables. The ground and 1st floors have wooden cross-windows, replacing small-pane sashes, irregularly spaced, but aligned on each floor. Entrance to R of centre, with inset half-glazed wooden door under a 2-pane overlight; steel sign bracket over door. One-window to L of entrance and 2-window to R. Shop front to far L with moulded cornice, has a half-glazed panelled door with small-pane glazing, under an overlight with iron scrollwork grille; large 2-light shop window to L with horned sashes, retaining glazing bars to upper sash. West end is of brick with a gabled attic dormer. East end is stuccoed with a string course, the stack breaking through eaves cornice; 2-light plain-glazed wooden casement with wedge lintel, offset to L of each storey.
Rear is symmetrical with a central gabled staircase projection and adjoining wing. Wooden cross-windows, as front, under segmental brick heads, 2 to each side of projection. To L, stone basement storey is now a shop, with glazed door reached by steps and a plain-glazed window to its R; gabled attic dormer. To R of rear wing, 1st floor windows have flat brick heads; brick lean-to below, formerly a butcher's shop, with door to L and window to R. The L-hand return of the staircase projection has stair-lights at 2 levels, small 2-light casements; the gable has a small attic window. Set below is a lower 2-storey gabled wing, probably a later service unit. Its L-hand return has an inserted late C20 doorway to far L, a cross-window to its R, and 2-light casement to upper storey; external end stack, now out of use and containing a small window to each storey.

Interior

Interior partly seen. Fine open-well staircase in rear projection, probably late C17, with barley twist balusters, a moulded handrail, and square moulded newels with stepped caps, continuing up to attic storey. The basement has medium-chamfered spine-beams and open box-panelled partitions, probably of a similar date; there were front windows originally.

Reason for designation

Listed as a large probably late C17 town-house, with some good surviving detail. Later work includes a good late C19 shop-front. Group value with surrounding listed buildings in Well Street.