21, Dodington

House, latterly shop and petrol station, now supermarket. Circa 1725.

The building is constructed of red brick with painted stone dressings and has three storeys with one-storey wings. The roofs are twentieth-century flat construction. The main façade features a stone plinth, chamfered quoins, a stone frieze and dentil cornice, a central one-bay triangular pediment, and a parapet with panelled dies at each end and stone coping. The façade is arranged in a 2:1:2 bay pattern with a central break. Windows are four-pane sashes, though the eighteenth-century glazing bars have been removed and twentieth-century casements inserted on the second floor. The windows have stone cills and rusticated stone lintels with raised keystones. The central first-floor window is set on two shaped brackets and has a lugged moulded architrave, frieze and moulded cornice. The central second-floor window similarly sits on two shaped brackets and features a shouldered moulded architrave with shaped top and raised keystone. Two large late nineteenth-century plate-glass shop-fronts occupy the ground floor, each with moulded surrounds, fascia and brackets to the cornice.

The central door dates to the eighteenth century and has four raised and fielded rectangular upper panels with four triangular-shaped lower panels forming a Saint Andrew's cross below. It is topped by a rectangular overlight with geometrical-pattern glazing bars. The stone doorcase features a lugged moulded architrave, panelled pilaster strips, and carved consoles supporting a triangular pediment with broken-back centre. The set-back one-storey wings each have a plinth and coped parapet. A blocked window in the right-hand wing retains a rusticated segmental stone lintel with raised keystone. The right-hand return front shows a blocked segmental-headed doorway and a blind window. The left-hand wing was altered, probably in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, and now features a carriage archway with moulded architrave, frieze with half-H panel and moulded cornice. The sides of the main block show evidence of a former pitched roof to the wings and a higher front wall. The rear elevation has a plinth and plat band between ground and first floors, with segmental-headed windows now replaced with twentieth-century casements.

Interior: The ground floor has been largely gutted for shop use, with a staircase hall to the rear. An eighteenth-century three-flight square-well oak staircase features landings, an open string with carved scrolled brackets, moulded nosings, column-on-vase balusters (three per tread), ramped moulded handrail, and columnular landing newels. The staircase has raised and fielded dado panelling with panelled dies and ramps. Two sides of balustrading, landing balustrade, and the wreathed foot newel (curtail only) had been removed at the time of survey in November 1986. The staircase hall is lit by a Venetian window with scrolled brackets supporting the cill, panelled antae, triglyph frieze, moulded cornice, and architrave to the centre light. The glazing bar sashes feature intersecting Gothick tracery in the centre light. An enriched plaster ceiling above the staircase includes a moulded dentil cornice, a large panel with Greek key ornament and quadrant corners with fleurons, and a central ornamental rose (much decayed at the time of survey).

The first-floor lobby has a moulded dentil plaster cornice. A wide elliptical archway with panelled antae featuring moulded capitals opens into the lobby, with an arch displaying a panelled soffit, moulded architrave and shaped keystone. The central first-floor front room is accessed via a doorway with a lugged moulded architrave, moulded frieze with central panel, and broken triangular pediment. The room retains a moulded cornice. The left-hand first-floor front room has an enriched moulded plaster cornice and a central depressed-arched bed recess with surround comprising fluted pilasters, moulded architrave and keystone. This room also retains a moulded plaster cornice. A eighteenth-century dog-leg oak staircase rises from the first floor to the attic, featuring a landing, open string with cut brackets, column-on-vase balusters (two per tread), moulded handrail, and columnular foot newel. Doors throughout have six raised and fielded panels, panelled reveals and moulded architraves. Windows feature moulded architraves and panelled shutters. All first-floor fireplaces have been removed, though marks on the walls indicate they consisted of a lugged moulded architrave with frieze and cornice.

Historical evidence from old illustrations demonstrates that the wings were formerly two storeys tall with coped parapets. Despite the alterations made, the house remains a fine example of an early eighteenth-century building and retains much of its sumptuous fittings and ornament.