72-86, BOTANIC ROAD

A row of eight houses, now shops, dating from the early to mid-19th century, built in several phases and subsequently altered. The houses are constructed of brown brick, with slate roofs; number 76 is painted white, while numbers 84 and 86 are rendered and painted white. They have a double-depth plan and are mostly single-fronted, with various rear extensions.

The exterior presents an eleven-window range. Numbers 72 and 74 were originally built as a three-window group, with a round-headed doorway in the centre. To the right is a 25-pane bow window with a frieze, and a double-fronted shop front has been added to the left at ground floor; the first floor has three windows with raised sills and wedge lintels, now containing uPVC glazing. Numbers 76 to 80 form an irregular four-window range (1:2:1 windows). Number 76 has a central doorway flanked by nine-pane shop windows, all sheltered by a 20th-century plastic canopy, with a single square window above featuring altered glazing. Number 78, of two wide bays, has a continuous 19th-century shop front at ground floor, with a frieze, and two square 4/8 sash windows above. Number 80 has a single, narrow bay with an altered shop front at ground floor and an altered window above. Numbers 80 and 82 were built as a pair and feature doorways with wedge lintels and altered doors, square plate-glass shop windows with pilastered surrounds, and two 4/8 sash windows above. Numbers 84 and 86, also built as a pair, have late 19th-century shop fronts at ground floor and two 4/8 sash windows above. There are seven ridge chimneys.

The interior of the building was not inspected. The row forms a group with numbers 68 and 70 to the right, numbers 88 to 92 to the left, and with numbers 53, 55, 57, and the Bold Arms Hotel opposite. The buildings contribute significantly to the townscape at a prominent location near the town centre.