Commercial Hotel And Attached Wall And St Peters Fine Art Gallery

The Commercial Hotel and attached wall and St Peter’s Fine Art Gallery were constructed around 1807. The main block is of brown brick in Flemish bond to the front and part of the south wing, with grey slate roofs. The south west corner is hipped, with all other roofs gabled.

The main block has three storeys and a symmetrical double-fronted facade. A painted sandstone plinth supports a recessed door of six flush panels, topped with a simple overlight set within a painted stone case featuring a moulded architrave, frieze, and cornice. Recessed sash windows, with flat gauged brick arches and painted stone sills, flank the door: twelve panes to each side of the door on the ground floor, three of fifteen panes to the second floor, and three of twelve panes to the third floor. A cornice runs along the top of the facade, with a flush chimney at each end. The north end of the front features a cast-iron rainwater head and pipe, while the south west corner has a lead rainwater head and upper part of pipe. A door of four glazed panels above two flush panels is located at the south end of the main block’s ground floor, with recessed twelve-pane sashes to the upper storeys.

Attached to the north-east corner is a high brick wall that links the hotel to the City Club at 1 Northgate Street, closing the north end of St Peter’s Churchyard.

A recessed south wing, originally housing an art gallery on the first floor, is early 19th century, with a later recessed extension. The earlier part appears to be of two builds, constructed of brown brick in Flemish bond, while the later section is in painted stretcher bond. Windows have painted stone sills (some replaced in wood) and cambered brick heads. The first-floor art gallery features a replaced flush tripartite 2;2;2 pane horned sash, a replaced six-panel door within a probable replaced doorcase complete with frieze and cornice, and a full-width bay window with three rows of nine panes, abutting the older part to the north and curving outward to the south. This bay window has a panelled painted plaster plinth, a medallion cornice, and a flat roof. The second storey exhibits a brick band above a brick-on-edge course laid diagonally, a nearly flush 4;12;4 pane tripartite sash, and a 12-pane sash. The third storey has a 9-pane sash, a tripartite 3;9;3 pane sash, and a projecting 12-pane sash. Cast-iron rainwater pipes are present on the south wing.

The rear elevation includes a part-glazed framed and boarded door within a plain wooden case, with a replaced window on either side. The first storey of the projecting south wing is concealed. The second storey has an altered tripartite sash to the north, two 12-pane sashes, and a small inserted 2-pane sash, alongside a nearly flush 12-pane sash in the south wing. The third storey features two 9-pane sashes, a small inserted window, a 9-pane sash, a small inserted window, and a nearly flush 12-pane sash in the south wing.

The interior retains the original layout of an early 19th century public house.