2, MARKET HILL (See details for further address information)

A department store occupying the entire north side of Market Place and the south end of the east side of Market Hill. The building is of 18th-century origin with early 19th-century refronting. It has been heavily restored, altered and enlarged during the 20th century. Construction is timber-framed and plastered, with brick and a slate roof. The plan is trapezoidal with two storeys and attics.

The south elevation fronting Market Place now has a continuous roof with a modillioned eaves cornice and gabled dormer windows, hipped at the west end but the eastern two-thirds are 20th-century work. Six bays are articulated with a segment-headed open arcade to plate glass shop windows, a fully glazed door, and fluted pilasters with paterae. Windows are 20th-century 3x4 paned sashes with moulded architraves. The west end features a 19th-century facade with a projecting double-fronted shop, modillioned cornice and consoles, now with plate glass; a recessed 20th-century two-leaf fully glazed door is set below. Cellar grilles appear under the shop windows. On the first floor, two early 19th-century French windows with side margin glazing open onto a balcony over the shop projection. An early 19th-century full-length tented lead canopy is accompanied by contemporary ornamental iron balcony railings and stanchions. The eaves cornice is enriched with egg and dart moulding and acanthus leaf modillions. Two gabled dormer windows of 19th-century origin have been restored with two casement lights of 4x3 panes; the remainder of the facade features six similar dormer windows of 20th-century date.

The west elevation to Market Hill has a facade restored in 20th-century house style, comprising six bays, of which three to the north formerly constituted a single unit (No.2 Market Hill). On the ground floor, three flush shop windows match those in Market Place. A 19th-century door with a deep cornice hood, console brackets and pilasters has had its aperture reduced and is fitted with a 20th-century fully glazed shop door. First floor windows have moulded architraves and 3x4 paned sashes; a modillioned eaves cornice and four dormer windows in the 19th-century house style complete this face. The roof is hipped.

The east end elevation is older, with a gabled street range that has been restored. A broken modillioned cornice runs to north and south. Sash windows include one on the first floor of 3x4 panes and one in the attic of 3x2 panes. A ground floor shop window returns to the arcade opening onto Market Place. To the north (rear) a 20th-century flat-roofed three-storey addition contains a reset 3x2 paned sash window on the second floor. Behind this, to the west, stands the rear of the range to Market Hill. This has a gambrel roof with a dormer window containing 3x2 paned sashes. The second floor has a 4x4 paned sash window and a 20th-century small casement window; the wall is ashlar lined.

The rear north elevation shows, at the west end, two early units: the western is timber-framed and plastered, ashlar lined, with some 20th-century pargetting; the eastern is 19th-century brick, colour-washed, with a 20th-century plain door. The first floor contains two sash windows with glazing bars—one of 3x4 panes and one of 4x4 panes. To the east, irregular 20th-century three-storey additions feature 20th-century casement windows of one, two and three lights.

Photographs from 1908 show the south front with shop fronts but without classical detailing. A photograph from the 1920s shows the same elevation, but Market Hill at that time still had houses rather than shops.

Internally, the premises have undergone complete 20th-century refurbishment, but the attic of the range to Market Hill retains an 18th-century joggled butt-side-purlin roof.