38, 42, 44, BRIDGEGATE

This is a mid-18th century terrace of three houses and shops, which has been restored in the 20th century. The building is constructed of brick, with some areas in Flemish bond and others in English bond, and has a replacement pantile roof. It is three storeys high and has nine windows on the first floor.

The left-hand property, number 38, has a 20th-century shop front with a half-glazed door and a divided overlight. Number 42 has a 20th-century four-panel door with a divided overlight, and two sash windows to the right, the upper sections of which have glazing bars. Number 44 features a central six-panel door with a divided overlight, a 19th-century shop front to the left, and a sash window with glazing bars to the right. Stone steps lead to all entrances. A first-floor band is interrupted by the shop front of number 38. The first floor has sash windows with glazing bars, while the second floor has a band and squat six-pane sashes. All doors and windows are set within rubbed brick flat arches with whitewashed keystones, and windows have stone sills. The eaves are sprocketed, with gable coping, stone kneelers, a right-end stack, and two rebuilt ridge stacks.

Inside number 42, a fine open-string staircase features column-on-vase balusters, carved tread ends, and a ramped handrail. The drawing room has fielded panelling and a dado with an egg-and-dart border, a dentilled cornice, and a very ornate fireplace with pilasters featuring baskets of fruit and bouquets, supporting a frieze with a central shell flanked by acanthus brackets and foliate panels, and finished with an acanthus leaf cornice. The moulded plaster ceiling is divided into rectangular sections with delicate diamond and radiating motifs, and includes two ceiling roses. Number 38 has fielded panelling and a dado rail to the first-floor reception room, with some elements being 20th century replacements; an original narrow round-arched cupboard is contained within the panelling. Number 44 has been largely modernized, but retains some panelling and a closed-string staircase with column-on-vase balusters, now partially enclosed on the lower storey.

A datestone, thought to indicate the date 1743, is no longer legible, but this is considered a likely date for the building.