163-169, HIGH STREET

This is a brewery, dating from around 1820. It was later converted into a terrace of four houses around 1890. The building is constructed of red brick with a slate roof, and has a rectangular plan with rear extensions to each house.

The front elevation, facing south, has eight bays and three storeys over a cellar. A string course runs between the ground and first floors. The roof has deep eaves with paired modillions, and three stacks rise from the roof pitch. Most of the windows are plain horned sash windows, but three at number 165 have glazing bars, arranged as 2x4 panes (one on the ground floor and a pair on the first floor). The doorways are recessed, each with a round-headed arch and a semicircular fanlight. The doors are similar to the one at number 169, with two upper panels and a lower boarded panel; the upper panels on numbers 163-167 are now glazed.

The rear north elevation is of yellow brick with a slate roof and three stacks. There are four identical extensions, with slight alterations. Number 169 is the least altered and retains single ground and first-floor sash windows with segment heads and glazing bars (3x4 panes), along with a second-floor casement window, also with a segment head and glazing bars (4x2 panes). The rear extension has a slate roof and a stack at its apex. A first-floor 2-light casement is likely a replacement, and a ground-floor lean-to with a slate roof incorporates a single light window.

On the east side, facing the yard, the ground floor has a segment-headed doorway and two similar sash windows with segment heads and glazing bars (3x4 panes) in each house. A sash window with glazing bars (3x4 panes) and a simple fixed window are on the first floor.

The west end has a straight brick joint between the original block and later additions. The original block has a central door with a plain flat hood, a door with two glazed upper panels and two lower beaded panels. Adjacent to the door is a casement window with glazing bars (2x2 panes). The first floor has a horned sash window with a segment head (2x2 panes). The rear addition has a small casement window on both the ground and first floors.

The east end elevation shows evidence of rebuilding, with a large, blocked arched opening roughly central on the ground floor, framed by red brick voussoirs. There are two internal, symmetrical stacks. The terrace of houses forms a cohesive group.