30 Borough High Street

The building at 30 Borough High Street is an early 19th-century structure that was re-fronted in the mid-19th century with Italianate style details. The 20th-century shopfront is not considered to be of architectural significance.

The building is constructed of stock brick in a Flemish bond pattern, with stuccoed dressings applied to the east side only. The roof is covered in slate and overlaid with bitumen, featuring brick chimney stacks at each end.

The building’s plan consists of a three-bay frontage with commercial premises on the ground floor and separate residential accommodation above, comprising two or three rooms on each floor. Access to the upper floors is provided by a full-height staircase located at the southwest end.

The east, or entrance, front features stuccoed bands between floors. The mid-19th century ground floor has a moulded fascia and a north-side entrance with pilasters, a divided rectangular fanlight, and a double door with three fielded panels on each side. The first and second floors each have three sash windows with six-over-six panes and horns, set within stuccoed architraves. The first-floor windows are taller and have moulded cornices and window sills. The third floor has smaller three-over-three sash windows. The north side has an early 19th-century multi-pane sash window on each upper floor, which illuminate the staircase; the ground-floor window has been blocked. The south side is adjoined by number 32 and is not visible. The west side is mainly hidden by 1B Southwark Street, but a three-over-three sash window is visible on the third floor.

The ground-floor shop has no visible original fittings. The doorcase on the north side of the east front opens into a narrow passage containing a geometrical, full-height, early 19th-century painted wooden staircase. This staircase has a mahogany handrail, stick balusters with curved tread ends, and a cast-iron, partly twisted columnar newel post. An elliptical arch, supported by brackets, adjoins the staircase.

The first floor, likely originally comprising interlinking reception rooms, has a southwest corridor with a series of doorcases and four-panelled doors, and cornices decorated with three rosettes. The northeastern room contains a boxed-in fireplace, a cornice, and a dado rail. The larger southeast room has a wooden fireplace with pilasters and a cast-iron basket fire grate with rosettes, a moulded dado rail, and a cornice, possibly featuring anthemions, palmettes, and ovolo moulding. The windows have retained folding shutters.

The second-floor northeast room has a wooden fireplace with paterae and reeded pilasters. The larger southeast room, likely the principal bedroom, features a fireplace with pilasters and a cast iron basket fire grate. A half-glazed door with marginal glazing leads to a smaller southwest room, which contains a smaller wooden fireplace with paterae and reeded pilasters. The windows retain folding shutters.

The third-floor northeast room has a four-panelled door with a moulded architrave. The smaller southeast room retains a three-over-three pane sash window without horns. A very narrow, later staircase provides access to the roof.