5 and 7, King Street

Town houses, probably dating from the later 17th century, converted into two separate houses around 1720, with various later alterations. The buildings are constructed of stone-dressed brown brick in irregular bond, with a grey slate roof featuring a coped gable facing the street.

Exterior

The frontage comprises a cellar, two full storeys, an attic storey and a loft. A coursed sandstone plinth runs beneath the windows, with unbroken joints visible at No. 5 and rendered finish at No. 7, which also has cellar vents. Inserted doorways with cambered brick heads are located at each end of the front elevation.

No. 5 has refaced steps leading to a door with a glazed cross-panel over two tall panels, topped by a leaded overlight in a panelled doorcase with a small hood. No. 7 has three stone steps to a door with two flush lower panels, two glazed middle panels and two fielded upper panels, a three-pane overlight and a plain doorcase. Flush stone quoins run the height of both buildings.

The windows vary between the two houses. No. 5 retains flush sashes throughout. No. 7 has replaced windows in little-altered openings: a 12-pane sash and a 4-pane sash to the first storey (the latter under an inserted cambered head); two 12-pane sashes and two metal casements to the second storey; a 9-pane sash and a wood 4-pane cross-casement to the attic; and a small 2-pane sash to the loft. A flush stone coping runs along the full-width gable.

The rear elevation features a narrow two-storey gabled wing at each end, probably added later. No. 5 has restored 12-pane and 8-pane sashes to the first storey, a restored 12-pane sash to both second and attic storeys, and a replaced 1-pane window to the loft. No. 7 has a replaced 4-pane sash to the second storey and a replaced 4-pane sash to the attic storey. A central ridge chimney is present, with small-span roofs rising from each side of the main roof and terminating in gable chimneys.

Interior

No. 5: The cellar contains sandstone winder steps, outer walls of squared rubble sandstone and a brick party wall, all plastered. A front-to-back oak beam is supported on an inserted circular brick pillar. The hall features a four-board door on gudgeons opening to the rear. The front room on the ground floor has a corner fireplace with a domed semicircular fire opening and a chamfered cross-beam. The back room contains a probably 19th-century kitchen grate in a brick opening and a roughly-chamfered oak cross-beam.

The first storey has a replaced stair. The front room features a cast-iron grate in a corner fireplace, a chamfered oak cross-beam and exposed joists. The back room has an oak cross-beam and exposed joists.

A closed-string stair rises to the attic with stout square newels and two barleysugar balusters per step. The front room has a chamfered lower purlin and oak collar-beam, a corner chimney-breast and an inserted stair to the front attic room containing an oak post, two unwrought purlins and oak rafters.

No. 7: The cellar contains sandstone winder steps, coursed rubble sandstone outer walls, a party wall shared with No. 5, and arched wine bins of brick set into a bedrock floor. A chamfered oak beam runs backward through the cellar.

The ground floor front room features oak panelling (largely covered), a covered corner fireplace, a chamfered oak cross-beam and a cornice. The back room has a chamfered oak cross-beam.

The newel stair incorporates winders at each end of short straight flights on each storey, with turned balusters. The second and attic storey rooms both have chamfered oak cross-beams. The rear loft (the front loft belonging to No. 5) has heavy unwrought purlins, one scarfed, and a diagonally set ridge-tree of oak.