70 Westgate, including 2 and 4a Cheapside

Former townhouse, early C19, used commercially from at least the mid-C19.

MATERIALS: Red brick, laid in Flemish bond facing Westgate, randomly bonded facing Cheapside, some stone dressings and a stone slate roof.

PLAN: the original plan form is uncertain, the current ground-floor configuration is due to subdivision of the property for commercial use. The near central doorway to the Cheapside elevation is original, and may possibly have been the principal entrance.

EXTERIOR: The building is of three storeys and has a principal elevation of two bays to Westgate, and a side elevation of three bays to Cheapside, the other two sides abutting adjoining properties. The roof is low-pitched and set back, concealed by a projecting stone modillion eaves cornice with a thin triglyph frieze, the roof being hipped to the south (facing Westgate). There are two large chimney stacks: an end stack to the north and an eaves stack to the east.

Westgate (south) elevation: set centrally to the first floor is a three-light, canted bay window with Roman Doric pillars supporting a guilloche frieze and a dentilled cornice, the bay having a flat roof. The detailing of this canted bay is delicate and of good quality. To the second floor are two windows with gauged brick flat arches with triple keystones, the central ones being moulded. Window joinery to both upper floors of this elevation are one-over-one sashes. The ground floor has a full-width modern shop front, which continues beyond the corner-set entrance for one bay on Cheapside.

Cheapside (west) elevation: the central bay retains a substantial stone plinth and a window sill band to a pair of window openings (boarded over with shop signage in 2023), and immediately to the left (north) is a domestic doorway retaining an early C19 rectangular overlight with bats wing glazing bars, the door being a later replacement. The flanking bays have modern shop fronts. The original first- and second-floor window openings have flat arches of gauged bricks, stone sills and small-paned sash windows, generally six-over-six-pane, with the upper windows being shorter (three-over-six), and the northern first-floor window being wider (eight-over-eight). The southern second-floor window is blind and there is a pair of small inserted windows to its left.