32, College Street

This is a house, now used as offices and a shop, dating to around 1770, with later additions and alterations. It is located on College Street, Worcester, at a prominent corner where it meets Deansway and College Yard, and contributes to the setting of Worcester Cathedral. The original structure is brick, with a reddish-brown hue laid in a Flemish bond pattern, featuring flat arches of red gauged brick. It has stone sills, a stuccoed doorcase, and a plain tile roof, hipped to the right side. Three tall brick stacks rise from the roof, featuring oversailing courses and decorative pots, accompanied by a cast-iron grill. The building has three storeys plus a half-basement and attic, displaying four windows on the first floor. The ground and first floors have six-over-six flush sash windows, with the ground floor window on the right side blocked. The second floor has three-over-three flush sash windows. All windows are topped with flat arches. An attic dormer window contains a fixed light. A blocked, elliptically-arched opening with a grill is visible in the basement on the right side. A renewed three-step approach leads to a centrally positioned entrance featuring a six-panel door with beaded lower panels and raised cross motifs in the upper four. The deep overlight incorporates decorative glazing bars and an oval panel. The doorcase includes pilasters with sunk panels and corbel brackets with acanthus moulding, culminating in a cornice. A modillion eaves cornice runs along the top of the building.

The right return side of the building is three storeys high and features three first-floor windows with six-over-six flush sashes. The second floor has three-over-three flush sash windows. The ground floor features a shop front with a dentil cornice, partially obscured by blind boxes; plain end pilasters and two steps leading to a central entrance featuring a plate-glass door. A frieze displays a disc motif, and the overlight is present. The reveals of the doorway are adorned with three flush reeded panels. A three-light shop window with slender glazing bars is located to the left of the entrance, while a two-light window sits to the right, both with blind overlights.

The rear of the building displays three storeys and a gable. The original facade is recessed to the right and largely obscured by later construction. One section is three storeys high with an attic. It retains a six-over-six flush sash window on the first floor and a three-over-three flush sash window on the second floor, both with elliptical arches. The gable has a three-over-six round-arched flush sash window with radial glazing bars to the head.

The interior includes a dogleg staircase with stick balusters, carved tread ends and a newel post, though the rest of the interior has not been inspected. Historical records indicate a building was on this site as shown on Young’s Map of 1779.