2 New Street

A former house built around 1750, now used as barristers' chambers.

Exterior

The three-storey Georgian building occupies a corner site at New Street and Friar Lane, with an L-shaped plan. The walls are constructed of red brick laid in Flemish bond, with a chamfered stone plinth course. A three-course plat band runs above the ground and first floor windows on the Friar Lane elevation, and a continuous heavy moulded-wood eaves cornice runs around the building.

The east elevation to New Street has two bays to its north side, while the south elevation to Friar Lane has five bays, arranged with a wider gap between the third and fourth bays. The fenestration largely consists of six-over-six pane sash windows on the ground and first floors, and three-over-six pane sashes on the second floor. The windows have painted stone sills and segmental brick arches containing sash windows with glazing bars in flush casings, most of which have been restored. The entrance on the New Street elevation retains an 18th-century door surround, modified in the 20th century, featuring a shouldered moulded architrave and cornice, panelled reveals, and a six-panelled door. The fenestration of the New Street elevation is varied, and alterations to the brickwork are evident.

The pitched M-shaped roof to the New Street range and hipped roof to the Friar Lane range are covered with slate and together accommodate three red brick chimneystacks. The original Swithland slate roof covering has been largely replaced by Welsh slate (2019).

Interior

The interior is roughly L-shaped on plan. The small entrance hall contains a stair and provides access to a meeting room to the north, a two-bay room to the south, a larger three-bay clerks' room to the south-west, and a rear corridor to the north-west. The location of the stair and its windows suggest it may have been reconfigured and replaced sometime in the late 19th century. The closed-string half-pace stair has turned wooden balusters and square newel posts, a moulded handrail, and panelled spandrel.

The meeting room north of the entrance hall features a large segmental arch on its north wall. The clerks' room contains a classical fireplace on its west wall, most likely mid-18th century. The rear corridor provides access to the basement, kitchen and toilet facilities, and rear porch. The half-glazed doors, toilet facilities, and rear porch appear to date to around 1922, when the building was adapted for use as barristers' offices.

The first floor retains several attractive interior features. The front room of the New Street range has a picture rail and plain but attractive fireplace. The corridor retains early 20th-century half-glazed doors and matching panelling. The Friar Lane range retains some six-panelled doors. The front room retains a plain cornice and an early 20th-century wooden and tiled fireplace surround. The rear room, divided in the 20th century, retains a decorative cornice, picture rail, and marble fireplace.

The second floor retains a number of early 20th-century half-glazed doors to the offices. The rear room of the Friar Lane range retains a picture rail, integrated storage on the west and north walls, and a plain fireplace with cast-iron grate. The front room in the New Street range retains integrated cupboards either side of a blocked fireplace. West of the rear corridor, an office retains a picture rail, decorative 19th-century cast-iron fireplace, and integrated cupboards to either side of the fireplace.

The room in the north-west corner of the New Street range shows evidence of blocked door openings at ground, first and second floor levels connecting to 4, 6 and 8 New Street to the north. The first floor room is spanned by a segmental arch, which suggests this may previously have been the location of a stair.

The basement has brick steps, brick-lined walls and brick-vaulted ceilings.