6, Northgate Street

6 Northgate Street is a three-bay house of two storeys and attic, dating from the late 17th century with alterations to the main elevation dating from the late 18th century.

The building is single-depth on plan with a slightly irregular projecting rear wing to the north. It is constructed from red brick laid in Flemish bond, with a plain clay tile roof. The main elevation sits on a slightly projecting plinth and features a moulded cornice at the eaves. The fenestration is slightly irregular: there is a central entrance doorway with a six-panel flush door in a narrow opening with a rectangular fanlight, and a second similar entrance door to the left leading to a through passage. The windows are eight-over-eight sashes, except for the central first-floor window, which is narrower with a six-over-six sash. All doors and windows are set under rubbed brick flat arches with slightly projecting painted keystones. The roof has two gabled dormers, each fitted with side-hung timber casements.

The house has group value with other buildings along both sides of Northgate Street.

Warwick's centre was radically altered by a major fire on 5 September 1694. The fire began west of Northgate Street but spread after householders moved smouldering valuables to St Mary's Church at the south end of the street. The church caught fire, and flames rapidly spread along Northgate Street, destroying all houses on the east side and damaging those to the west. Some rear walls on the east side appear to have survived. The houses were rebuilt immediately following the fire, before the end of the 17th century, though with alterations later in the 18th century, including much of the detailing to their main elevations. Originally substantial private dwellings, by 1896 trade directories show several were in commercial or professional use and some as lodgings, though some remained private family dwellings. By that date, number 16 housed offices for Warwickshire County Council, and in the early 21st century, the houses were all in use as offices for district council departments, together with later 20th-century offices built to the rear.