3 And 5, Victor Street

The property at 3 and 5 Victor Street, York, originally served as the rectory for the demolished Church of St Mary Bishophill Senior. It dates to the late 17th century and has undergone alterations, extensions, and a re-roofing after 1876, with restoration work completed in 1987. The building is constructed of red and orange brick in stretcher bond, with brick coping and kneelers now rendered under a steeply-pitched pantile roof. Brick stacks are located at the left end of number 3, and to the rear of the front range of number 5.

The front elevation is two storeys and comprises four unequal bays, articulated by pilasters. An inserted six-panel door provides access to number 3, located in the left end bay. Number 5 has its entrance in a rear extension. A 19th-century cart arch is centrally positioned, originally beneath a massive lintel and now closed by wrought-iron gates. To the left of the arch is a late 19th-century shopfront with plain pilasters, a frieze, and a moulded cornice supported on scrolled, grooved consoles surmounted by gablets. A boarded-over shop door sits below a fanlight, to the left of an eight-pane sash window. To the right of the arch is a 25-pane sash window with sunk-panel shutters. The first-floor windows are 16-pane sashes. A raised first-floor band runs along the front, and coved boarded eaves complete the exterior. The rear is largely obscured by extensions, though inside number 3, a fire-window arch, pilasters, and a raised first-floor band are visible. On the first floor, three original segmental arches remain above later windows.

Inside number 3, exposed stop-chamfered beams and joists are visible on both floors, with the ground floor's beams supported by dwarf Doric columns. A later fireplace with a brick chimney hood is present against the left end wall, visible on the first floor. Two rooms on the first floor contain early 19th-century fireplaces with cast-iron grates. Records indicate a blocked two-light window with a timber-frame and mullion in the gable wall of number 3. The interior of number 5 has not been inspected. This building is considered an interesting example of a rural vernacular house type, unusual in an urban setting and unique within York.