Number 8 And Attached Railings And Gate

Number 8 is a terraced house located on Church Row, built around 1728 by R Hughes. It underwent significant rebuilding and refacing in the late 19th century. The house is constructed of brown brick with red brick dressings and features a tiled mansard roof with a dormer.

The exterior has three storeys, an attic, and a basement, with two windows. The entrance includes a wooden architraved doorcase with pilasters, a bracketed cornice, and a fluted frieze, along with a patterned fanlight and a panelled door. The windows have gauged red brick flat arches and are fitted with flush framed sashes in exposed boxing. Moulded brick strings run along the floor levels, and there is a parapet above. The rear elevation features flush sash windows in exposed boxes, supported by single iron brackets.

Inside, the house is two rooms deep with a central staircase positioned at right angles to the facade. There is a deep extended bay to the right at the rear, likely added in the early 20th century. The ground floor has an open layout with full-height ovolo-moulded panelling, a dado rail, and a box cornice. An early 18th-century corner fireplace adorned with faience tiles is present. The staircase rises from the centre of the space, featuring three turned balusters per tread and newels, with the lowest flight having a balustrade on both sides. The first-floor rear room includes panelling, a box cornice, a dado, and an 18th-century fireplace set in an early 19th-century grate, along with a plank door. The second-floor front room has an early 18th-century corner fireplace, full-height panelling, a cornice, a dado, and shutters. The second-floor rear room also features full-height panelling with a moulded cornice and dado, an early 18th-century fireplace with an early 19th-century grate, and shutters. The third-floor front room opens into an M-shaped roof, while the rear room contains some panelling and an early 18th-century fireplace.

The house is complemented by attached cast-iron railings with urn finials leading to the areas and a wrought-iron gateway featuring a scroll design with an overthrow. Historically, from around 1785 to 1800, this was the residence of Mrs. Barbauld and her niece, Lucy Aikin, both notable writers.