15 and 17 King Street

15 and 17 King Street is a shop built in 1902 by Francis William Maxwell of Maxwell and Tuke. It likely has a steel frame but is clad in elaborate timber framing and features a slate roof. The building has a rectangular plan on a corner site with a rounded corner, designed in the Tudor style.

It stands four storeys high with five bays facing King Street, one curved corner bay, and three wide bays on Police Street. The ground floor has panelled piers and large plate-glass windows. The first and second floors feature carved wall posts, wooden blind balustrading between the floors, and projected eaves with mutules. An octagonal turret sits over the corner, topped with swept slated sides and an arcaded cupola. Gables flank the turret and there are coupled gables over the fourth and fifth bays, all adorned with herring-bone struts and finials.

The first floor includes wooden mullion-and-transom windows, with six lights on King Street, ten curved lights at the corner, and eight lights on Police Street. The second floor has set-in oriels with arched centre lights and sharply-curved corners, featuring transoms and small-paned top lights. The wide bays on Police Street have galleries with splat-baluster fronts. The top floor consists of ten-light mullion-and-transom windows, with continuous fenestration in the narrower bays on King Street and lozenge panels flanking the wide bays on Police Street.

This building is a striking example of decorative timber-framing and contributes significantly to the character of the street. It is included for its group value.