45-53 HIGH STREET

A terrace of six houses, now shops, offices, and flats, was built in the mid-18th century, with number 53 added in the late 18th century. The houses are of red brick, with a moulded brick cornice, except for number 53, which has a brick dentil cornice. Numbers 51 and 53 have been colourwashed. The roof is tiled, with brick stacks. The building follows a complex U-shaped plan and is two stories and an attic in height, with a six-window front. Number 45 has a late 20th-century shop front. Number 47 has a late 19th-century shop front featuring a glazed door and overlight, a canted bay, and pilasters. A plank door leading to a through passage is framed by a simple moulded wood surround with a gauged brick flat arch. A deep plaster cove is situated above the ground floor, broken by the shop fronts. Numbers 51 and 53 have an early 19th-century double shop front. The central bowed entrance has double-leaf, half-glazed doors, bow windows, all with glazing bars and pilaster panels. Decorative imposts feature paterae and anthemion ornament, along with a fascia and cornice. The first floor of numbers 45 to 51 is slightly recessed. The windows are sashes with gauged brick flat arches; number 53 has two four-pane sashes. There are five hipped dormers, with 19th and 20th-century casements. The left return side includes a full-height, two-light staircase window with three transoms. Inside numbers 51 and 53, the ceilings have stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops. The group value of these buildings lies in their contribution to the streetscape.