44 And 46, London Road North

The building at 44 and 46 London Road North is a pair of cottages, originally built in 1854 as a newsroom and library for the 5th Lord Vernon. They were later converted and dormers were added in 1919. The construction uses Flemish bond orange-pink brick with buff sandstone dressings, a shaped Welsh slate roof, and two brick chimneys. The design is symmetrical, featuring a six-bay front and a 1½-story height. There is a stone plinth and rusticated quoins. The end bays are set back under hipped roofs and contain casement windows with glazing bars, set within flat, gauged brick heads. The central bays have two-light casement windows in similar heads, with gabled, half dormers above. A projecting gabled porch shelters a pair of doors, also with gauged brick heads. Shaped and pierced woodwork with trefoil bosses and pointed finials adorns the gables and eaves. The building was featured in the Illustrated London News in June 1854 as a model for other colliery owners.