85-105 Northgate

85-105 Northgate

A row of shops and offices dating to the early-to-mid 19th century, built in coursed squared stone with ashlar dressings, slate roofs and stone chimney stacks. The row comprises four main blocks running approximately north-south along the western side of Northgate, with courtyards and rear ranges providing access to warehouse and workshop units behind the frontages.

Block 1: Nos 83-89 Northgate

The southern block dates to around 1800 and rises three storeys. The ground floor contains shop fronts; the right unit has a recessed doorway with late 19th-century fenestration, whilst the centre unit features a full-height canted bay with a modern ground floor alteration and modern fenestration above. To the left, the ground floor is 20th-century work with an entrance to the right and a single-storey extension with flat roof. The upper floors to the left of the canted bay have modern glazing; those to the right retain 3 over 9 vertical sash windows with stone architraves. Quoins appear at each corner.

The side elevation extends for six bays along North Parade (Nos 2-4). The three bays to the right project slightly and feature a central former entrance, now a window, flanked by windows in plain stone architraves with a bracketed segmental pediment above. To the left is a plain doorway and an arched vehicle entrance within a slightly recessed section, followed by a further projecting bay. All glazing here is modern.

Block 2: Nos 91-93 Northgate

A recessed bay with an arched vehicle entrance and keyed archivolt links this block to the southern section. Two floors above are divided by a string course; the first floor window has decorative jambs. The block, formerly the Commercial Inn, is divided into two shops on the ground floor. No 91 has two bays with a central doorway bearing a bracketed cornice and two-light windows with modern glazing to each side. No 93 has a single bay with pilasters framing a central door and overlight with flanking windows fitted with glazing bars, all under a cornice. The first floor of the whole features a central tripartite window with stone mullions and scrolled brackets supporting a cornice; the flanking windows have stone mullions and eared architraves. A string course sits above three second-floor square windows. The roof is low-pitched with corniced chimneys.

Block 3: Nos 95-99 Northgate

Another tall arched vehicle entrance links the previous block to this section. The slightly recessed three-storey bay has a moulded keystone and two string courses (the upper one moulded). The first floor window is two-light with stone mullion and round-headed arches; the second floor has a two-light window in an eared architrave. An eaves cornice above bears a low-relief date of 1846. The main block comprises three bays, the central one projecting slightly, with quoins at every angle. The ground floor has three wide segmental arches with moulded keystones surrounding modern shop-fronts beneath a cornice. The first floor displays three tripartite windows with architraves and bracketed cornices, the centre window narrower than the outer two. A string course separates these from the second floor, where the windows are also tripartite but smaller. All glazing is modern. A deep modillion cornice and low-pitched roof complete the composition.

Block 4: Nos 101-105 Northgate

The northernmost block, also three storeys, is set back from the rest and linked to No 99 by a recessed tall arched vehicle entrance with a moulded keystone. The two storeys above each have a single window with eared architrave. The main block has three shop fronts on the ground floor; the right-hand one, possibly late 19th-century, features a recessed central double door and slender mullions on the windows. The first floor has a central tripartite window with bracketed cornice flanked by paired windows with eared architraves; the second floor displays a central paired window with outer single lights, above a string course. All glazing is modern.

The north side of No 105 is a blank wall bearing the scar of a former attached building.

Interiors

The interior of Nos 83-85, now occupied as solicitors' offices and incorporating Nos 2-4 North Parade, contains no surviving features of interest. No 87 retains a single steel column supporting a ceiling beam on the ground floor; upper floors have not been inspected. The ground floor of No 89 contains an interesting collection of decorative plasterwork on ceiling and walls in the front room, possibly showcasing available patterns. Original panelling, doors, stairs and fireplaces survive on the ground, first and second floors, along with some original rear windows.

The interior of No 91, now a restaurant, has not been inspected. Nos 93-97 are disused shops and have not been internally inspected. No 99 appears to have no original ground floor features; upper floors have not been inspected. No 101 contains no surviving features of interest; Nos 103 (a disused shop) and 105 have not been internally inspected.

The three arched openings within the row provide access to rear courtyards containing a variety of outbuildings, some derelict, with access to workshops in buildings behind.