MAIN STREET (See details for further address information)

Wilson Terrace, Main Street, Spittal

A semi-detached pair of houses now divided into 6 flats, built in 1878 by William Wilson, a local architect and funerary sculptor. The building is constructed of grey-brown stone blocks, squared and rusticated but not coursed, with smooth ashlar quoins. The rear elevation is uncoursed random rubble. Brick chimneys and a slate roof complete the exterior. The building is 2 storeys with prominent attics.

The right-hand (north-west) house (Nos. 202/204) features a central doorway with strongly reticulated ashlars to either side. Above the doorway is an entablature of ogee-curved consoles topped with carved animal heads, a plain frieze with a central high relief carved head, and a carved cornice. There are two six-pane sash windows to either side of the doorway, divided by a stone mullion with reticulated ashlar jambs and a lintel with central carving. A highly carved stone string course runs at first-floor level.

Four windows are positioned on the first and second storeys. Those on the first floor are six-pane sashes with reticulated ashlar jambs and prominent keystones, with the outer window's keystone carved as a face. A further decorative string course appears at second-floor level. The second-storey windows are six-light sashes with semi-circular arches rising above the roof line, decorated with carved jambs and semi-circular lintels, each topped with a figure of a man carved in the round. The outer corners feature a carved bird.

The left-hand (south-east) house (No. 206) has a similarly articulated main facade but is slightly less elaborately decorated, with only two figures above the windows and no carved string courses.

The north-west facing gable end displays a basement window and two first-floor windows similar to those at the front, with highly carved jambs and a carved face on the keystone. A highly carved string course runs at first and second floor level. The second-floor windows match those at the front, with carved figures above. Between the windows is a carved base-relief panel of birds with a date below at first-floor level, a square panel with a carved head above, and a further panel with a coat of arms above the second-floor string course.

The rear elevation, cut into the hillside, features windows matching those at the front but less decorated. Two windows only have carved birds at the top. The second-floor windows of the south house are not semi-circular; the outer two have triangular gables above, while the inner two are set below the roof line.

Interior of the right-hand (north-west) house: A central hallway features an elaborate cornice. The two front rooms both have ornate cornices and ceiling roses, high skirting boards, and tall splayed and shuttered sash windows. One room contains a possible original fireplace, and an original doorway across the hall with painted glass survives. The rear rooms are less decorated; one is sub-divided while the other has a plain cornice. The original staircase has been removed, with access to upper floors now via stairs behind the former outbuildings. The front room of the upper floor has an ornate cornice and ceiling rose. Some original doors, skirting boards and window furniture remain. The rest of the interior was not examined.

William Wilson was a local funerary sculptor with offices near the bridge into Berwick. He built another pair of houses further up Main Street in Spittal, which share a number of features with Wilson Terrace but with less carving and in a less imposing setting.

This imposing terrace is very ornate and individual, representing a fine example of late Victorian decoration and ostentation executed to a very high standard and well preserved. It served as an excellent advertisement for Wilson's skills as both architect and sculptor, and is an idiosyncratic piece of design.