23, Minster Yard

No. 23 Minster Yard is a house from the early 18th century, with alterations made in the mid-19th century. It is built of brick, featuring stone and stucco dressings, and has a plain tile roof with two gable stacks.

The exterior includes a chamfered plinth, a first-floor band, an eaves cornice, a coped gable and parapet, a rendered angle pilaster, and a tumbled northeast gable. The building has two storeys plus attics and is arranged in four bays. There is an off-centre porch from the 19th century, which has a cornice. The doorcase is moulded with a cornice on brackets, leading to a part-glazed panelled door. To the right, there is a flat-roofed square bay window with two plain sashes. To the left, there are two sashes, and above, four sashes, all featuring glazing bars and splayed keystone lintels. The upper section includes two segment-headed dormers with two-light casements.

Inside, the house has a central dogleg staircase from the mid-18th century, consisting of four flights with a cut string, turned newels, a ramped and scrolled handrail, and two vase and stem balusters per tread. The ground floor front room to the left features full-height panelling from the 18th century, with a dado and a dentilled cornice. There is a matching overmantel above a replica Classical fireplace, flanked by elliptical arched niches with pilasters. The corresponding room to the right has a slate fireplace with stone corbels from the mid-19th century. On the first floor, the room to the left includes two walls with reused framed panelling from the 17th century and a mid-19th century marble fireplace, flanked by elliptical arches and a moulded cornice. Several panelled doors date from the mid-18th century and early 19th century.