Number 23 Street Number 27 Row

Undercroft and town house, now undercroft office, Row shop and upper storeys partly in office use. Probably early-to-mid 14th century; substantially rebuilt 1804; altered in the 20th century.

The building is constructed in Flemish bond brown brick with a grey slate roof, ridged at right angles to the street and hipped to the front. It occupies a corner plot on the Row, presenting four storeys over a single bay to the street.

The exterior has been substantially altered. The modern office frontage to the street masks the original structure, though brick piers remain, with a rendered sandstone pier to the south. A fascia covers the bressumer. The cast-iron Row-front rail comprises a bottom rail, stick balusters and plain top rail, supported on a brick pier to the north and rendered pier to the south, with two cast-iron Roman Doric intermediate columns. The slightly sloped boarded stallboard extends 1.68 metres from front to back, with a modern tiled surface to the Row walk. A modern shopfront occupies the Row frontage, with a covered door to the rear passage on the south side. A plaster ceiling and wood fascia conceal the Row-top bressumer.

The brick upper storeys have painted stone sills and wedge lintels. Two cross casements to the third storey have a large pane to each lower light and six panes to each upper light. Two similar but shorter fourth storey cross casements have four panes in each upper light. A painted cornice and low stone parapet complete the facade.

The undercroft lies three steps down from the street level. It contains a cased beam under the back of the stallboard, followed by four cross-beams, each supported on end-posts with two inserted intermediate posts cased in wood. The flat oak joists display chamfers with stops visible at the rear ends. One joist in the second bay has both ends stopped; two in the third bay have both ends of chamfers more simply stopped. A suspended ceiling now covers the joists in the fourth bay. The sidewalls, now covered, are stated to be sandstone, probably of medieval date.

The Row shop interior has all surfaces covered. A Row door, now covered, with substantial architrave in the rear passage leads to the upper storeys. This arrangement, common in buildings east of Bridge Street, suggests either a former courtyard house or a formerly separate rear dwelling.

A late 19th-century stair ascends to the third storey, with a partly covered sash window featuring radial bars set in a round arch at its head. A six-panel door opens to the front room, currently partitioned, which retains a substantial skirting, a sub-panel to each window, a painted 19th-century fireplace to the north and a plaster cornice. A lateral stair behind the front room leads to the fourth storey, with an open string, simple shaped brackets, a slender turned newel, covered treads, two stick balusters per step and a swept rail.

The next room on the third storey landing, accessed through a basket archway with pilasters, has a light-well above and appears to have been inserted. The third room features a concave corner chimney breast with cornices to the north and east, and a ceiling rose. The fourth room displays mild Gothick character, with two sharply arched niches, a broader four-centred arched recess, a patterned cornice and a recessed twelve-pane sash.

The fourth storey front room has a blocked fireplace to the north and a sub-panel to each window. The passage is articulated by a basket archway with roll-moulded arrises to the pilasters. The middle room contains a six-panel door. The north back room has a blocked corner fireplace and a sub-panel to the recessed twelve-pane sash. The south back room, accessed through a six-panel door, has a simple corner fireplace and a sub-panel to the recessed twelve-pane sash.

The back passage and rear exterior show no visible features of special interest. The undercroft represents the principal area of architectural interest; it is probable that more medieval structure survives than is currently visible.