39 (Vinegar House) and attached wall to south

This is a house with an attached wall, dating from around 1770, and featuring later additions and alterations. It was unoccupied and disused at the time of its listing. The house is constructed of reddish-orange brick in a Flemish bond pattern, with stone sills, a cornice, and brick copings. The plinth is stuccoed, and the return side has a cast-iron balustrade from the Carron Company. The roof is tiled, hipped, and has reddish-orange brick stacks with oversailing courses and decorative pots; the stack on the left side is external.

The house is three storeys high with five windows on the first floor. It has a chamfered plinth. The first floor has tall 6/9 sash windows; the second floor has 3/3 sash windows; and the ground floor has 6/6 sash windows. All windows are set in near-flush frames, with stone sills and flat arches made of gauged brick. A continuous balcony with a heart and anthemion motif balustrade runs along the first floor. There is a crowning frieze, an ovolo-moulded cornice, and a coped parapet. The central entrance has a six-raised-and-fielded-panel door within panelled reveals, a fanlight with gothic glazing bars, and a pilastered doorcase with console brackets supporting an open pediment. The left return side features 6/6 sash windows that appear to be original.

The interior of the house has not been inspected.

A single-story wall adjoins the left side of the house and extends for approximately 3.5 metres. It has a ramped and coped parapet and includes an inserted gateway.

Historically, during the 18th century, Foregate Street was known as “the mall,” and a guide to Worcester from 1802 described it as a fashionable promenade due to its paved surface and spaciousness.

This property forms a group with the Shire Hall, the Statue of Queen Victoria, the City Museum and Library, and several other buildings along Foregate Street.