16,18, LANCASTER ROAD

Nos. 16 and 18 Lancaster Road is a building that was originally a post office, constructed in 1854 and now serving as two shops with offices above. The structure features a painted ashlar facade over a brick core and has a slate roof. It has a narrow rectangular plan that runs at right angles to the street and is designed in a Classical style.

The facade is three stories high, with three bays and a concealed attic. It includes a pediment, a modillioned cornice at the ground floor, and a giant Composite pilastrade on the upper floors. There is a moulded frieze, an emphatic modillioned cornice, and a moulded pediment. The ground floor has two altered shop fronts with elaborate coupled consoles that rise from the fascia to the cornice. The upper floors feature a string-course for each bay, with windows that have altered glazing on the first floor and four-pane sashes above. The building also has corniced side chimneys and skylights.

Historically, it functioned as a post office from 1854 to 1870. It is part of a block that includes Nos. 10, 12, and 14 to the right, where it appears as a wing, and Nos. 20, 22, and 24 to the left.