34-42, WESTGATE

This is a mid-19th century building on Westgate, constructed from ashlar with a pitched slate roof. It is three storeys high and features a moulded eaves cornice with modillions. The building is divided into several units, each with a shopfront characteristic of the late 19th or early 20th century. The westernmost unit has a shopfront with curved plate glass windows and spindly glazing bars, while the easternmost unit features broad mullions and a mezzanine level. Number 34 has a 1930s shopfront with a black and green bakelite plinth and a chrome frieze above the plate glass window. The shops are separated by horizontally rusticated piers with Tuscan capitals. A moulded cornice sits above the ground floor. The windows are arranged in three ranges: the first-floor sashes have Gibbs surrounds with dentilled cornices, and the second-floor, segment-headed sashes are linked to the first-floor windows by fluted consoles, and have moulded surrounds with cornices. The interior is notable for its good 1920s wooden panelling and a chaste balustraded gallery, lightly evoking the style of Edgar Wood.