Former Eastgates Coffee House

Former Eastgates Coffee House

This building is constructed of painted brick with ashlar dressings and a plain slate roof, topped with a square lead-capped cupola. It is Grade II listed.

The Eastgates Coffee House is designed in an eclectic 16th-century timber-framed style, dominated by elaborate windows and close-studded and jettied gables. The single-bay front elevation features an elliptical arched window on the ground floor and a plain entrance to the left. Although the late 19th-century windows and doors have been modified to 20th-century design, their original shape has been respected. The first floor displays an elaborate curved timber oriel window, supported on carved wooden brackets with moulded eaves, a central elliptical arch, and lozenge and diamond-shaped leaded lights. A three-light leaded casement to the left above the door balances the symmetry of the East Gate façade. Above this is a jettied attic gable with applied close-studwork, moulded wooden eaves embellished with pargetting and carved wooden detail in the apex. Central to both the attic window and oriel window below are moulded figures holding musical instruments.

The main entrance sits in the canted corner of the building, featuring a segmental pediment doorway with an ashlar hood mould, now encased in lead. Above the door is a casement oriel window with moulded wooden eaves and lozenge and diamond-shaped leaded lights. The elaborate mullions and transoms are lavishly decorated with four figures, each positioned on an individual moulded balcony. Three hold musical instruments—a harp, cymbals, and a small stringed instrument—while the fourth has an arm that probably once held a musical instrument, now missing. The musical instruments likely reference the entertainment offered within the coffee house and the role music played in its ambience.

The Church Gate façade is seven bays deep, comprising two storeys with attic and basement beneath three jettied gables. The ground floor is dominated by a 20th-century shop front, though the window shapes respect the late 19th-century elliptical arcade, and the ashlar hood moulds appear to survive encased in lead. The original arches were narrower with moulded ashlar dressings above and between them, though some detail was lost during 20th-century alterations. The first two bays of the first floor are marked by two ornate oriel windows with moulded eaves and figures. Within each of the twin gables above is a ten-light mullioned and transomed window with moulded decoration and figures. The remaining five bays of the first floor feature elaborate crossed-mullion windows similar in design to the oriels. A single, prominent gable above the fifth and sixth bays is simpler in design than those at the front, with a horizontal six-light casement window divided centrally by a carved wooden panel.

The basement and ground floor are fitted throughout with 21st-century shop fittings. Ceilings and lighting are suspended, though evidence on the first floor suggests original wood panelling survives beneath. At first-floor level, the front oriel windows create a bright, naturally lit and airy environment. The floor has been altered to accommodate a 20th-century staircase, and windows at first-floor level along Church Gate have been blocked by shop fittings and stockroom storage units. Other features such as fireplaces may survive behind modern fittings. The attic retains its original roof structure: an arch-braced collar truss with a moulded king strut and twin angle struts, featuring two tiers of side purlins and a ridge purlin, creating a spacious, open and airy room. Wood panelling survives throughout the attic, providing internal decorative detail to the recessed windows, which are elaborately decorated externally.

A rear extension accommodates a lift shaft and office space but has no architectural or historical interest.