Romneys House

Romney's House is an end-of-terrace house built in 1797 by the artist George Romney as his studio, with an accompanying plaque. It was enlarged in 1807 at the east end for use as Assembly Rooms, and subsequently redesigned in 1929 by and for Clough Williams-Ellis. The original two-storey section is timber-framed with weatherboarding, finished with a slated roof.

The main north-facing front has a brown brick ground floor and a weatherboarded first floor, displaying a symmetrical three-window facade. The central doorway is notable, featuring fluted pilasters, a carved console-bracketed hood, a patterned radial fanlight, and a panelled door. Flush-framed sash windows are present throughout. The roof is hipped with dormers.

The west end, which faces the road, is slightly lower and features a brown brick ground floor and weatherboarded first floor. A slightly projecting, flat segmental bay with a hipped roof is incorporated.

The east end includes the Assembly Room extension, which is believed to retain a good geometrical staircase and pilasters to the assembly room on the first floor. The extension is characterized by a stucco portico with pilasters supporting an entablature and an architraved doorway.

The interior has not been inspected. The stables, now the Holly Bush Public House on Holly Mount, were converted around 1807 to form a catering wing for the Assembly Rooms.