3, Edgar Street

This is a substantial early 18th-century house located on Edgar Street, Worcester, with later additions and alterations. It occupies the site of an earlier dwelling, incorporating some of its original materials. The house was built in 1732, as indicated by a date cartouche above the central first-floor window, and was constructed by William Stephens.

The house is constructed of reddish-orange brick in a Flemish bond pattern, with stone sills, a brick cornice, and keystones. It has a plain tile roof and a rear left brick stack with an oversailing course and decorative pots. It is three storeys high plus an attic and has five first-floor windows. The first and second floors have six-over-six sash windows; the ground floor has two pairs of six-over-six sashes. All windows are set in near-flush frames with sills and flat arches of rubbed brick. Most ground and first-floor windows have keystones with incised moulding and cornices, while the central first-floor window features the date cartouche. The second-floor windows have fluted scroll keystones, the central one being decorated with foliage. The central entrance has a six-raised-and-fielded-panel door with a divided overlight, set within a fluted doorcase featuring lion masks and a cornice, and is complemented by a lion-head knocker. A moulded brick cornice runs along the top of the building, topped by a parapet with brick copings. A box dormer is partially concealed behind the parapet. A lead hopper and fallpipe are also visible.

The interior features a closed string, dogleg staircase with rod-on-vase balusters. The first-floor drawing room has painted bolection-moulded panelling and buffets flanking the fireplace, along with two round-arched niches containing shelves (one with cupboard doors) and a deeply moulded cornice. Panelled shutters and two- and four-raised-and-fielded-panel doors are also present. The ground floor retains late 17th-century panelling and bolection-moulded fireplaces, reportedly brought from elsewhere. The attic contains exposed purlins, a plank door, and an interrupted tie beam.

Historical records indicate a 99-year lease was granted in 1732, enabling the demolition of an older building on the site and its replacement with the current house, incorporating elements of the original structure. The ground-floor windows have been altered; originally fourteen, the number of windows on the front elevation was reduced to twelve, likely to avoid Window Tax.

The building is considered a fine example of Worcester's Georgian domestic architecture and forms a significant group with numbers 2-16 (consecutive) Edgar Street, numbers 28-34 (even) Sidbury, number 12 College Precincts, Tower House (number 1 Severn Street), and Edgar Tower (College Green), contributing to the setting of the Cathedral.