15 And 17, Church Street

A pair of houses dating from circa 1700, with later additions and alterations, located in Church Street, Royal Leamington Spa. The houses have timber-framed construction, with painted stucco facades, reddish-brown brick stacks, and a Welsh slate roof to number 15 and plain tiles to number 17. Number 15 follows a through-passage plan, while number 17 has a lobby-entry plan.

The exterior presents two storeys and three first-floor windows, arranged in a 2:1 configuration. The first floor features pairs of six-pane casement windows that break the roofline, each gabled with decorative bargeboards and finials. The ground floor has two canted bays with multi-pane casements to number 15, and one canted bay with a three-over-six sash window between one-over-two sashes to number 17; each bay has its own individual roof. The central entrance to number 15 is a part-glazed, four-panel door with an overlight, set within a projecting solid gabled surround. The entrance to number 17 is to the left, featuring a four-panel door with an overlight, within a cambered surround and a vermiculated keystone. A further keystone is present to the right. A substantial ridge stack with a cornice above the entrance to number 17 serves both houses.

Inside number 15 there are boxed beams, four-panel doors, small plank doors, and remnants of timber framing visible near the cellar staircase. Number 17 displays evidence of timber framing on the first floor. Photographs taken in 1974 of number 15, before it was re-stuccoed, reveal timber framing with wattle and daub infill. These houses represent a rare survival of pre-Spa town dwellings.