Peppers

This is a substantial town house, later used as a bank and then a political club, dating from approximately 1736, with alterations in 1852 and further alterations and an extension in 1897. It is constructed of red brick laid in a Flemis-bond pattern, with ashlar stone dressings, two brick ridge stacks, and a plain tile roof.

The building has a full-depth central hall, with flanking rooms separated by a main and a secondary staircase, and includes a billiard room extension to the west. The north (front) elevation is symmetrical with five bays over two storeys and attics, and a single-storey addition. The central entrance bay is slightly advanced, flanked by shallow brick pilasters, and features a pediment above the first-floor window, which breaks through a blind brick parapet above a moulded cornice. Pilasters are expressed as piers within the parapet and are topped by urns. The doorway has a panelled door case with scrolled brackets supporting a segmental pediment. The door is panelled, originally with 10 panels, now partially glazed. Flanking bays contain sash windows with glazing bars (retaining heavy section 18th-century glazing bars) to the ground and first floors, with a 9-over-6 pane configuration and segmentally-arched heads set within advanced ashlar surrounds. A storey band sits above the ground floor openings, and a moulded coping defines the parapet.

The interior’s plan form has been altered, with the removal of dividing walls between ground floor rooms. However, original features remain, including moulded ceiling cornices, 18th-century fielded panelling, panelled doors, window reveals and shutters, and moulded window surrounds and architraves to doorways. These details are repeated at the first floor level. The principal staircase features slender turned balusters and a ramped, moulded handrail. The secondary staircase also survives at the first floor level, with distinctive detailing compared to the main stair, and gives access to the attics, which have exposed roof timbers, panelled doors, and 19th-century hearth surrounds with hob grates. A short staircase with barley-sugar balusters within the attic storey provides access to a south-facing prospect platform at roof level.

The house was built around 1736 and remained in private ownership until 1852, when it was altered to become the premises and managers' house for the District Bank. In 1897, the building was purchased by the Nantwich Liberal Club. This is a significant and well-detailed early 18th-century town house, retaining substantial original interior fabric despite later alterations and extensions.