Martin Forster House

Martin Forster House, originally a vicarage and now offices, was constructed around 1730 and altered in the early 19th century. It is built of brick with stone dressings, a Welsh slate roof, and has two gable and one side wall stack. The building has a plinth, a band at first floor level, an eaves band of moulded wood, and coped gables. The two-storey and attic structure has a seven-window street frontage arranged as 3:1:3. A projecting single window in the centre is topped with a pediment. The central doorcase is pedimented with fluted pilasters and a fielded six-panel door, flanked by single round-headed boot scrapers. There are three segment-headed 12-pane sashes to either side. Above are seven 12-pane sashes, all except the central one segment headed. Four box dormers with six-pane sashes are set into the roof.

The rear elevation has a double-gabled four-window facade, with an early 19th-century service wing attached to the left, topped with a plain tile roof. An off-centre doorway has a glazed panel door and overlight, alongside a six-pane sash to the left and inserted double-glazed French windows with side lights to the right. Above are a narrow plain sash, a single 12-pane sash to the left, and two similar sashes to the right; above again, there is a single window to each gable, the left window being off-centre. The left wing has two three-light casements, and above, a single plain sash.

The interior features a full-height, original dog-leg staircase with a continuous string, turned balusters, and square newels with pendants. The ground floor flights have a pulvinated string and panelled newels, with balusters to both sides on the bottom flight and scrolled circular newels. A segment-arched inner rear doorway has a panelled door and round-headed side lights and fanlight. Doors throughout have two raised and fielded panels and moulded surrounds. Windows have moulded surrounds and panel shutters, some with panel window seats. There are two complete original panel rooms with moulded coving and original painted stone fireplaces. The ground floor left room contains an early 19th-century fireplace and an original round-headed cupboard with panel doors and original curved shelves. The right room has an original stone fireplace flanked by early 19th-century segment-arched alcoves and moulded coving. The right rear room also has an original stone fireplace. The basement contains brick vaulted cellars. Original roof trusses are visible in the attic.