3-17, PERCY STREET

A terrace of eight houses, numbered 3 to 17 Percy Street, was likely built around 1830, possibly by John Foster junior. The houses are constructed from stone with a slate roof. They are two storeys high with an attic storey and a basement. The central two houses and the houses at each end project forward, each with two bays, except for number 3, which has an additional recessed end bay, and the other houses, which have three bays. The projecting houses feature channelled rustication on the ground floor, a sill band and frieze, and a cornice over the first floor, topped with a cornice and blocking course. The projecting elements include giant angle pilasters, and paired pilasters to the attic storey, topped with acroteria (ornate pyramid-shaped ornaments). A central gable is present, adorned with a honeysuckle finial. Doric colonnades are set into recesses between the projecting elements, accompanied by entablatures and balconies over the ground and first floor windows of the projecting houses. The windows have architraves – panelled at ground floor level and carved with honeysuckle flowers in the upper angles on the first floor. The entrances are characterised by panelled pilasters to the doorcase, and have complete overlights. Number 3 has a projecting entrance with angled entablatures, and number 17 has a matching porch on its return. Numbers 9 and 11 feature a porch with paired antae (square, flat-butressed piers). The terrace is further distinguished by iron area railings with arrowheads and stone piers, and iron first-floor balconies, with the one on the left being a later addition. The terrace is considered to be of fine quality, contributing significantly to one of the city’s best streets.