59 and 59a, Galgate

A pair of houses at 59 and 59A Galgate, dating to the 1760s, with alterations in the 19th century. The exterior is of rough render with ashlar dressings, and a roof of stone slates and Welsh slate, featuring a stone ridge, gable copings, and rendered chimneys. The houses are two storeys with a four-window range, including outer gabled bays; the left gable belongs to number 59A. There are six-panel doors at the right of the left gable and beneath the third window. The left door has an overlight in a keyed, round-headed surround with imposts, while the right door is in a plain stone surround with a hood. Paired 19th-century windows on the ground and first floors of the left gable have eight-pane sashes, stop-chamfered stone mullions, flat stone lintels, and projecting stone sills. A single twelve-pane sash is located in the gable peak, also with a flat stone lintel and projecting stone sill. A lower two-bay central section features a stone-mullioned canted bay window with a low-pitched hipped roof to the left. Above this are 18-pane sashes with flat stone lintels and projecting stone sills, and a keyed, round-arched stair sash window with imposts and arched glazing bars to the right. The right gabled bay is lower than the left, and has a canted stone bay with glazing bars and a hipped roof, and an 18-pane sash above. The left gable has a stone coping on moulded kneelers, while the lower-pitched right gable has a stone coping, moulded kneelers, and a ball finial. The roof has tall, wide, rendered end stacks. The interior was not inspected. Historically, the houses were part of the home of William Hutchinson, the historian of County Durham, in the 18th century.