76, 77 AND 78, LOWGATE

Nos. 76, 77, and 78 on Lowgate are three houses that have been converted into offices. They date from the mid to late 18th century, with some alterations from the early and late 19th century, as well as the late 20th century.

Nos. 76 and 77, located on the left, are constructed of brick with a rendered ground floor and left return, featuring ashlar dressings and a slate roof that has two gable and two ridge stacks. The buildings have a plinth, a first-floor sill band, dentillated eaves, and coped gables. They rise three storeys and present an eight-window range of 12-pane sash windows with brick flat arches and keystones. Above these, there are eight 9-pane sashes with similar heads. On the ground floor, there are two pairs of panelled carriage doors; the left pair has a wrought-iron grille above, while the right pair features panelled infill that matches the doors. To the left, there is an early 19th-century wooden shop front with a pair of engaged fluted Corinthian columns and a dentillated cornice, along with three 9-pane windows separated by fielded panels. To the right, there is a wooden double shop front from around 1880, which extends across the front of No. 78. This features square pilasters and a moulded cornice, with double pilasters between two sets of glazing bar windows, and to the right, there is a fielded 6-panel door with an overlight.

No. 78, on the right, is made of painted brick with a rendered left gable and a slate roof that has a single gable stack. It is three storeys high and has a three-window range, being taller than Nos. 76 and 77. It features three plain sashes on the ground floor and three 6-pane sashes above.