No 49 And Attached Boundary Wall To Rear

No. 49 is a villa dating from around 1820, with later additions and alterations. It is constructed of painted stucco over brick, with a hipped slate roof and two pairs of stucco end-stacks, some of which have been rebuilt, incorporating brick oversailing courses. A cast-iron balcony is also present. The building has a double-depth plan with a central entrance and a service wing projecting to the rear left; single-storey ranges flank the entrance. Stucco detailing includes a plinth, outer pilasters with a continuous frieze, and wide eaves. The two-storey facade has five first-floor windows. The centre of the first floor features an 8-pane French window with a divided overlight; otherwise, the windows are 6/6 sash windows in plain reveals. A distyle Tuscan porch with engaged pilasters and an entablature provides access to the central entrance, which is reached by four roll-edged steps leading to a 6-panel door, partly glazed, with an inverted teardrop fanlight. A fluted architrave with fleuron capitals decorates the door surround. Matching entrances with panel doors are found at each end of the elevation, the right-hand door being partly glazed, both having a frieze and blocking course that steps up to the centre. An ornate double-scroll motif tops the balcony above the porch, featuring urn finials. Original Venetian shutters with ‘holdbacks’ are on the ground floor. A two-storey wing extends to the rear. The interior was not inspected. To the rear of the service wing is an attached boundary wall approximately 10 metres long and 2.5 metres high, with an irregular Flemish garden wall bond. It includes a central elliptically arched pedestrian entrance with a flush-panelled door within a raised pilaster surround, and a further similar entrance with a boarded door. The rear walls of No. 49, along with those of No. 49-53, form a continuous and original feature fronting Back Walk. The buildings in Britannia Square form a unified group, begun in 1820 and planned around a large green, and are comparable to other developments in Worcester such as Lansdowne Crescent, Lark Hill, and Rainbow Hill Terrace.