Royal Arcade Crown Buildings

A late 19th-century shopping arcade and building with offices above, constructed in 1899 for Turner and Fowlds and incorporating an earlier 18th/19th-century building. The building is faced in ashlar with ashlar dressings and has slate roofs surmounted by ten stone stacks. It is three storeys high and features moulded bands, pilasters between bays with ornately carved capitals, moulded eaves, and a parapet topped by ball finials. The south front, on Low Street, has seven bays, with a three-bay earlier building to the left. It features six shops, an arcade arch to the left, and two further shops. Above the central two-storey curved bay window are three sashes, and to the right a single sash, all in shouldered surrounds. Above the arcade is a round arch with a keystone and a panel inscribed "ROYAL ARCADE." The upper floor displays a similar window pattern, with three windows over the arcade entrance, all with bracketed flat hoods. The parapet is inscribed "CROWN BUILDINGS." A gabled dormer with a broken segmental pediment tops the central bay. To the left is a lower, earlier building with a double sash and a single sash, and above, three casements, covered by a stone slate hipped roof. The corner to the south-east has a recessed entrance with a door and overlight; above is a projecting canted bay window with three sashes to each floor, surmounted by an octagonal cupola with a missing dome. The east front, on Fleece Street, has eight bays, including a flat-headed carriage entrance, shop fronts, a recessed entrance to offices, and an arcade entrance. Above the arcade entrance is a round arch with a keystone and a panel inscribed "ROYAL ARCADE.” The upper floor has a similar fenestration pattern. Windows are plain sashes throughout. The two-storey L-shaped shopping arcade has its east arm currently blocked. Much of the original shop fronts remain internally, along with a balcony to the east and a glazed roof. The building also incorporates Nos 1, 3, and 9 Fleece Street.