4-8, ABBEY LANE

This is a row of four houses, originally built between 1840 and 1850. They were initially constructed to provide housing for employees of the Gibson family and were later transferred to the Almshouse Trustees. The buildings are constructed of gault brick with slate roofs, arranged in a U-shaped plan, featuring a single-storey central range with two-storey cross-wings at each end.

The south-facing front elevation has a low, projecting central range with three gabled porches, each containing a doorway with a 4-centred arched head. The original central door retains its lower flush panels and upper glazed panels, though the outer doors are 20th-century replacements in a similar style. There are six windows along the central range, each with three lights and plain lattice glazing, set within moulded labels. Two tall, symmetrical stacks are positioned along the range. The eastern and western cross-wings feature decorative bargeboards and windows with three lights, stone surrounds, moulded labels, and rectangular frames containing 4-centred arched heads with intersecting tracery. Tall, diagonally-set paired shafts rise from dentilled stacks at the junctions with the central range, with another large stack behind. The eastern cross-wing includes a basement door with steps and decorative cast iron railings. A single-bay continuation on the east side has a first-floor window of two lights, similar to those on the cross-wings, with a doorway below containing a label and a door with two upper glazed panels and a lower battened panel.

The north-facing rear elevation showcases a red-brick central range, sloping down from south to north and comprising two storeys. Each house unit has segment-headed windows on both ground and first floors, with sash windows. The ground floor windows are sliding sashes with six-by-three panes, while the first-floor windows are double-hung sashes with four-by-four panes. A 20th-century flat-roofed single-storey addition provides access to a yard with a glazed door and a small casement window.

The western cross-wing is constructed of red brick, with simple moulded bargeboards. It has a segment-headed window with sash windows (4x4 panes) and a blind window on the ground floor. A 20th-century glazed door in a segment-headed doorway is positioned next to a 20th-century casement window. The eastern cross-wing is similar. The west-facing flank wall of the cross-wing includes a segment-headed doorway with a 20th-century four-panel door (the upper two panels glazed). Above is a pair of three-light traceried windows with labels matching those on the front elevation.