26-31, SANDHILL (See details for further address information)

This is a group of shops and offices, now a restaurant, dating from around 1860. It occupies a curved corner site and incorporates number 1, Side. The building is constructed of sandstone ashlar with a Welsh slate roof, and is designed in an Italianate style over four storeys and attics, with seven bays. The ground floor shops have been renewed, with bays defined by flat Tuscan pilasters. An entrance is located in the fourth narrow bay beneath a single window, while the other bays feature tripartite windows. These windows consist of plain sashes flanked by free Corinthian pilasters and are set under archivolts, each with a decorative key stone. Bays are defined by pilasters, and cornices are present on each floor, with the upper two floors featuring brackets. There are three dormers, the central one above the entrance, featuring paired sashes beneath a keyed roundel in a shaped gable. The outer dormers are round-headed. The roof balustrade has some missing sections. The building was undergoing restoration at the time of survey.