The Flaggs And Hamilton House, And Front Garden Walls And Gates

The Flaggs and Hamilton House are a pair of houses dating to 1756, as indicated by the rainhead inscription. They are constructed of Flemish bond orange brick with buff sandstone dressings, and have a Welsh slate roof with three brick chimneys. The houses are arranged on a single-pile plan and have a symmetrical eight-bay façade. A stone plinth provides access to the cellars. The front features rusticated stone quoins, a moulded cornice, and a plain blocking course. The windows are mostly 12-pane sashes, with the ground floor recessed. The upper floors have cased and flush windows, while the top storey has 6-pane sashes. The windows have rusticated stone heads with raised keyblocks, stone sills, and are recessed, with the remainder cased and flush. Doorways are set within moulded wooden doorcases with panelled reveals. A segmental pediment adorns the left bay, and a triangular pediment the right, both containing six-panelled doors approached by two stone steps. A central drainpipe bears the date 1756. The front gardens are enclosed by low brick walls with chamfered stone copings and simple iron railings. Each house has a gateway with square piers and capstones, and small wrought iron gates.

The interior of Hamilton House features a narrow hall with a semi-circular archway with a raised keyblock and imposts. The drawing room retains an original fireplace with rilled pilasters and a frieze, though the grate is modern. A dogleg staircase with square newels and a crisscross balustrade, resembling a Chinese Chippendale design, rises to the rear. Many doors are of two fielded panels in simple surrounds, although some are later four and six-panelled replacements. Extensive cellars are present.

The Flaggs showcase a hall with a segmental arch on fluted pilasters. The main room possesses a bold egg and dart moulded cornice with a fluted centre, and a 18th-century fireplace taken from Tarvin Hall. The room to the right has a less ornate cornice. An open-well pine staircase has three column balusters per tread, column newels, and a curving handrail, with carved acanthus on the open string. Upper rooms feature moulded cornices, one with moulded beams. Later four-panelled doors are found below, while the top storey contains doors and cupboards with two fielded panels.

Historical research by Dr A Gomme indicates a close stylistic comparison with the north side of Abbey Square in Chester, suggesting they were built by the same lessee, Taylor.