78 And 80, Church Street

This is a substantial, three-story house, built in 1775 for Dr Daniel Wilson, and later divided into two separate residences in the mid-19th century. It is located on Church Street in Lancaster. The front is constructed of sandstone ashlar with ashlar dressings, while the left-hand gable uses coursed rubble. The roof is slate-covered, with chimney stacks on the gables and along the ridge above the cross walls.

The façade is five bays wide, featuring a projecting bow window in the centre. This bow contains three windows on the upper floors and, on the ground floor, two windows and a doorway, all with curved frontages. A modillion cornice runs above the first-floor windows. Below this cornice, the windows have moulded sills and architraves; those above are plainer. All windows are sash windows without glazing bars. The doorway is framed by engaged Doric columns supporting a triglyph frieze and a curved pediment. The mahogany door has six raised and fielded panels, topped with a fanlight. Original cast-iron railings are located to the right of the doorway. Recessed walls, one storey on the left and two storeys on the right, flank the main facade. These contain doorways, originally leading to the garden, but now the entrance to No. 78. The rear elevation has windows with plain surrounds, most featuring 12-pane sashes. The central bay of the rear includes a triple window to the cellar, a Venetian window on the ground and first floors, and a Diocletian window on the second floor.

The interior of No. 80 features a large hall with a central staircase rising within the bow window. This hall has pedimented doorcases, a modillion cornice, and an Adam-style ceiling with circular patterns. Other rooms feature more ornate ceilings dating from the mid-19th century, when a quarter-turn staircase was added. No. 78 retains several original doorcases but has mostly 19th-century ceilings, less ornate than those in No. 80. The upper flights of the staircase seem to be from the original back staircase, with turned newels, a closed string, stick balusters, and a ramped mahogany handrail.

During excavations for the cellar in 1775, Roman coins and pottery fragments were discovered. The property was originally listed separately as Nos. 78 and 80.