White Friars House

This is a late 18th century townhouse, now used as surgeries, with probable medieval origins. The cellars are likely partly medieval, while the above-ground structure was rebuilt in 1796, with later internal and rear alterations.

The building is constructed of painted stone and brown Flemish bond brick, with a grey slate roof running parallel to the street. The front elevation has a painted stone plinth with a former cellar chute, three courses of banded rustication and a stepped approach to a recessed porch. The porch features a six-panel door, the upper pairs glazed, set within a substantial timber frame with carved pilasters, roses, brackets and a segmental pediment. There are four sash windows to the ground floor, painted stone ashlar, with four panes each. The upper floors have brickwork and recessed sash windows, with four panes per storey, the upper windows having short upper leaves, all with wedge lintels. A sillband runs above the second storey and a modillion cornice tops the building. Remaining are nine iron brackets in the form of serpents or dragons relating to a removed second-floor balcony. The building measures approximately 50 metres from front to back.

The rear wing has been significantly altered but retains brickwork of 18th century character and some flush sash windows. A timber gutter near the south end of the rear wing is dated 1796.

The cellars feature probable medieval tooled squared sandstone rubble outer walls on the south side, the southern 5 metres of the west wall and the lower courses of the east and north walls. The cellars are approximately 15 metres long and include a cupboard-type recess in the south wall and three stone winder steps to a now blocked access on the north wall. Barrel-vaulted brick recesses are built against the sides of the sandstone walls. Other cellar features include brick wine-bins and sandstone steps leading to the hall.

The first floor has late 18th century coloured patterned floor tiles and the two front rooms have been combined. A simple pilastered fireplace is located on the east side, with a replaced fireplace on the west. A chamfered beam, now painted, runs along the east side of the passage to the rear wing. The open-well stone staircase has shaped soffits and nosings, a curtail step, cast-iron balusters and a swept rail. Uninspected rooms on the third and fourth storeys contain some panelling.