20, The Cross

No. 20 The Cross is a house that has been converted into a shop with offices. It was built around 1720 and has undergone several additions and alterations, including attic dormers added in the 1960s and shop fronts updated in the 1980s. The building is constructed of reddish-brown brick in Flemish bond, featuring ashlar quoins, sills, and a cornice. The keystones and parapet are stuccoed, and it has a plain tile roof that is hipped at the right side, along with a rear brick stack. The shop front is made of timber, and the ground floor on the right side is stuccoed.

The building has three storeys with an attic and two first-floor windows. The first and second floors have 8/8 flush sash windows with flat arches made of gauged brick, fluted keystones, and cornices with sills. Quoins are visible from the first floor. The building is topped with a parapet that features a dentil cornice. The ground floor has a renewed plate-glass shop front and a central glazed door set within a period-style surround. The right return of the building has four first-floor windows, with end quoins and a cornice matching the front facade. The first and second floors on this side have one 8/8 flush sash and then 6/6 flush sashes, all with flat arches and keystones similar to the front. The left end continues the shop front from the front facade, while the ground floor is stuccoed with horizontal rustication. There is a glazed door at the right end.

Inside, the building retains original plasterwork and joinery, including moulded cornices and panelled doors with panelled reveals.

Historically, No. 20 occupies a prominent corner site at the junction of Angel Street with The Foregate and St Nicholas Street. It forms part of a significant group of listed buildings at this city centre crossroads, which includes No. 21 The Cross, the Church of St Nicholas, Lloyds Bank, and several other listed buildings in the area. Together, these structures create an important visual framework for this entrance to Worcester city centre.