24 And 24A, Market Place

Nos 24 and 24A in Pontefract Market Place is a house that later became a hotel and is now partly used as shops. It dates from the early 18th century and has undergone some alterations in the early 20th century. The building is constructed of painted brick with stone dressings and features a slate roof. It has three storeys and five bays.

The ground floor has been advanced in the early 20th century, showcasing entrances styled to resemble the early 18th century in the outer bays, with plate-glass shop windows in between. The entrances feature 20th-century glazed doors and overlights set within bolection-moulded architraves, flanked by rusticated stonework. Above these, there are raised and fielded panels between large fluted brackets that support moulded cornices and blocking courses. A similarly moulded and slightly recessed cornice runs between the first and second floors, topped with a stepped blocking course. The corners of the building are accentuated with chamfered rusticated quoins.

On the first floor, there are five tall, original 15-pane sash windows that are hung unequally, featuring thick glazing bars. The second floor has three original 9-pane sashes, also hung unequally with similar glazing bars, along with blocked openings in the first and third bays. All window openings on the first and second floors have moulded architraves with raised keystones and moulded sills, supported by unusual brackets with gadrooned tops and drop-like bases, which are positioned at either end of plain bands running below the sills. The building is topped with a heavy moulded and modillioned cornice with a blocking course, and there is a tall brick stack on the left side. It is reported that there is fine panelling in the first-floor saloon, but access is restricted for security reasons.