1, Northgate Street

A small townhouse built in the later 17th century or early 18th century, located on Northgate Street in Warwick. The house was constructed following the Great Fire of Warwick in 1694, which destroyed most buildings in the area.

The building is constructed from red brick laid in Flemish bond, set on a rendered plinth, under plain clay tiled roofs. It is of three bays and two storeys with attic, presenting a double-depth plan with rooms to either side of a central entrance hall and stair to the rear.

The main elevation features six-over-six hornless sash windows with stone cills set in plain reveals with flat, rubbed-brick voussoirs with projecting keystones. A stone plat band runs between the ground and first floors. The ground floor windows flank a central entrance doorway with a six-panelled door under a cobweb fanlight. Two gabled dormers with multi-paned timber casements occupy the attic. The north return wall dates from the mid-20th century, following the demolition of the adjacent house in the row. The rear elevation is plain, with 20th-century replacement windows.

Internally, principal rooms occupy either side of the central hall, connected to a rear hall by a glazed archway. The rear hall contains a closed-string dog-leg stair with square section balusters; those to the lower flight feature barley-twist details. One ground-floor room retains an original 18th-century fireplace flanked by contemporary cupboards, whilst the other principal room contains an imported 19th-century grey marble fireplace. The rear kitchen has exposed chamfered beams. One first-floor room retains a 18th-century moulded fire surround. The attic casement windows have wrought-iron handles and catches.

The house was initially a family home, occupied by various tradesmen including an ironmonger, boot and shoemaker, and clerk. During the 1870s it served as a private lodging house, and by 1904 was recorded in use as apartments. Warwickshire County Council purchased the property in August 1937 for £700 with a sitting tenant. It was one of a row of similar dwellings; neighbouring properties at Nos. 3, 5 and 7 were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s to allow extensions to the adjacent Judges' Lodging and Courts, leaving No. 1 as the sole survivor of the group. In the later 20th century it was adopted for use as office space by the County Council.