8, 12, 14 AND 16, TOP STREET

This is a range of houses dated to the 17th century, situated on the west side of Top Street in Appleby Magna. The houses are constructed of ashlar, largely rendered, and red brick, with a plain tiled roof and a rebuilt ridge stack between numbers 14 and 16. Two gabled wings project to the left and right. The left-hand gable front and the recessed central section are of ashlar, now rendered, except for the gable's inner wall and outer side wall. The right-hand section is of red brick with stone quoins, string courses, and a coped gable. 20th-century windows have replaced stone mullion windows on the left (number 16) and in the centre (number 14), although stone frames may remain under the render. The left side wall, of unrendered ashlar, retains two 2-light and one 1-light mullion windows; the lower 2-light window has a hood-mould. Number 16 displays a stone plinth. On the right-hand gable (number 12), 20th-century windows and a door have been inserted into the former 2-light mullions, and on the inner wall there are two 1-light windows and a stone lintelled doorway, now a window. The rear elevation has two gables: the left gable, behind number 12, is of red brick, rendered, with stone quoins and a coped gable, comprising a 19th-century stack and a dormer to the left. The right gable is rendered and shows two upright timbers visible in the gable, along with a blocked 2-light stone mullion on the upper floor of the inner return wall.