59 And 60, Broad Street

These are two houses, likely originally with shops, now used as a bank. They were probably built around 1750, with potential earlier origins, and have undergone later additions and alterations, including a shop front dating to around 1920.

The houses are constructed of pinkish-red brick with flat arches made of red, gauged brick, stone quoins, keystones, and a stone ground floor bank frontage. The roof is hidden, and there are brick stacks at the ends. The building is four storeys high, with six windows on the first floor. Quoins run from the first floor to the full height of the building. The first, second, and third floors have six-pane sash windows in flush frames, with moulded sills and flat arches featuring raised, engraved keystones and cornices. A renewed eaves band sits above a low, coped parapet.

The ground floor has a unified shop frontage with entrances at each end. The double doors have eight raised and fielded panels, a fluted frieze within pilastered reveals, and fanlights with decorative glazing bars and panels above the spandrels. There are four plate glass windows set within panelled aprons, with pilasters between them, a stepped frieze, and a continuous cornice which projects over the windows.

The interior ground floor has been altered, and the rest of the building was not inspected. However, it is said to retain original plasterwork and joinery, including a staircase with stick balusters on the first floor and a dado rail.

Broad Street was a commercially important location from the 16th century, second only to High Street. Situated on the direct route through the city from the bridge, it housed businesses and inns. Other buildings on Broad Street are known to have 17th-century and earlier origins. The listed buildings along Broad Street form a significant group.