62-64 King Edward Street

The building at 62-64 King Edward Street is an Edwardian Baroque Revival building constructed in the early 20th century. It is a five-bay, two-storey range, with the first floor being almost double the height of the ground floor and topped by a prominent cupola. The front façade is constructed of stone ashlar, although the ground floor has been altered with late 20th-century slate cladding, which is not considered to be of special architectural interest but is designated as a locally significant geological site due to the presence of sedimentary structures and volcanic bombs within the Tilberthwaite Tuff stone. The first floor features a central round-arched window with a moulded surround featuring bracketed shoulders and a double keystone. The central bay is rusticated and is framed by columns drawn from Roman Ionic patterns, with capitals incorporating cherub heads. Flanking the central bay are two windows separated by a pilaster similar to the columns. These windows have square heads with moulded surrounds that are shouldered and have a distinctive double keystone incorporating a broken cornice. The original window joinery was small-paned sashes, but these have been replaced in the late 20th century. Above the windows, there is an unadorned frieze continuing the line of the pediment above the central bay. The cornice has uncut modillions arranged in pairs. Above the cornice is a tall parapet with simple pilasters and moulded coping. Rising above the parapet, the large cupola is supported by a corniced plinth. This cupola has rusticated square corner piers with keystoned niches and is capped by a hemispherical stone dome supported by Doric columns between the corner piers. A diagonally set square lantern with lancet windows on each face sits atop the dome, culminating in a tall finial.

The rear of the building, with the exception of the cupola’s rear aspect, has been extended as part of a 1960 rebuild of the adjacent Central Methodist Hall, which is not included in the listing. Similarly, attached 19th-century buildings to the rear are excluded from the listing.

The ground floor has been reordered in the late 20th century; however, a set of inner entrance doors are believed to have been refitted from the original central entrance. The upper floor is accessed from the aforementioned Central Methodist Hall and is divided into two rooms retaining original plasterwork and architraving.