3 and 5 Club Row, with 31 Whitby Street

These are two terraced tenement houses, originally part of a group of six, built for occupation by weavers in 1764–1765.

Materials and Construction

The houses are built of brown stock brick, with number 3 painted and its south wall rendered. The steeply-pitched roofs are covered with replacement tiles. The chimney stacks to both houses have been reduced in height. All window frames are replacements; a 1953 photograph shows the original multi-pane sashes.

Plan and Layout

The two houses are set on a north-south alignment, with number 3 to the south and number 5 to the north. They are entered from the east. Each house originally had a single room on each floor within the main building. The plan-forms reflect the original terrace configuration, in which these houses shared their chimney stacks with their neighbours to north and south. The historic plan of number 3, with the stack behind the ridge within the southern wall and the stair rising in the south-east corner, is therefore mirrored in number 5. The plan survives largely intact in both houses.

Both houses have two-storey rear sections spanning the width of the main buildings, which appear to have been constructed at the same time as the main buildings, or shortly afterwards. Both plots are now filled to the western boundary by additional two-storey 20th-century extensions adjoining the principal extensions. Number 3 also has a two-storey projection at the west end of the south elevation (visible on the 1916 Ordnance Survey map) and small extensions at second-floor and attic level.

Exterior

The houses are three storeys high, with roofs rising behind parapets. Both have basements, though there is currently no external sign of this at number 5. The attic of number 3 is now converted. Each house is two bays wide, with an asymmetrical frontage reflecting the distinctive plan-form. The entrance to number 3 is to the south and the entrance to number 5 is to the north, leaving space for the corner staircase rising immediately from the entrance lobby. The wall above is blind, with a single window bay at the far side of the frontage. The openings are large, designed to light what were intended as workshops. The segmental heads are formed using regular rather than gauged bricks. Ground-floor shopfronts were inserted in the 19th century, with numerous subsequent changes.

Number 3

Number 3 retains the outline of its 19th-century shopfront, which has an early-19th-century appearance, with reeded jambs to the doorcase and a reeded fascia frame above. A tripartite window has been reinstated in this area, with reproduction reeded mouldings to either side. The panelling beneath is also a recent addition. The door is a replacement, beneath a plain rectangular fanlight. There is an opening at the centre of the plinth for a window lighting the basement, in front of which is a pavement grille.

The first- and second-floor windows are replacement tripartite timber sashes. The second-floor window opening was altered in 2019, with the cill slightly lowered and the top of the opening blocked. The first-floor cill is also a replacement. A dormer window has been added at the south end of the roof, over the stair.

The south wall, formerly the party wall between numbers 3 and 1, is rendered and has been strengthened by buttresses projecting from the position of the stack. Small windows have been inserted between the buttresses at ground- and first-floor level. To the west of the stack, the party wall which formerly divided number 3 from the house to the south has been heightened and extended westwards.

In the principal western rear section, a door has been inserted providing access to 31 Whitby Street. The roof of this principal rear section has been flattened to provide a terrace. A further lean-to extension, which is of lesser interest, continues to the western edge of the plot. At second-floor level there is a shallow extension with a small projection to the south, which is also of lesser interest. To the north, French doors open onto the roof from the main building. Above, at attic level, there is a small slate-hung projection to the south, whilst to the north is a long dormer containing a four-light window; these alterations are thought to belong to the early 21st century. A door now opens onto a small terrace. The south-west two-storey extension, which does not contribute to the special interest of the site, has a second-floor window to the south and a steeply-pitched roof rising to the north, with a window overlooking the first-floor roof terrace.

Number 5

Number 5 had a fully-glazed shopfront installed in about 2000; the box cornice of the 19th-century shopfront noted prior to the change has gone. The doorway has a divided rectangular fanlight above a moulded band. The opening contains a boarded door and a repaired timber doorstep. The cill of the upper window opening has possibly been lowered. The two front windows are uPVC replacements.

To the rear, the rendered wall of the second floor is visible above the outshut roof. There are two window openings separated by a narrow pier, now also containing uPVC frames. The outshot now extends to the western edge of the plot, covered with bitumen-impregnated fibreboard. Late-20th- or 21st-century skylights have been inserted. The westernmost section is 20th century and is of lesser interest.

Interior

Number 3

Number 3 has a winder stair rising in the south-east corner (its original position) from ground to attic storey. The original extent of the stair lobby is apparent in the floorboards at first- and second-floor level. The first flight of stairs, from ground to first floor, is a recent replacement in modern timber, but in the original form. The flight from second floor to attic is also a replacement, using some reclaimed timber. The central flight appears to be original, though with some replacement of treads, the steps rising around a plank newel.

On the upper floors, old floorboards remain, though there has been much replacement; those on the first floor appear to show the greatest degree of survival. There are new doors and skirtings. On the ground floor, the rear wall separating the main room and the principal rear section has been removed. Beyond the principal rear section, the 20th-century extension, already noted as being of lesser interest, is divided by recent partitions. Access to the basement is from the north-west corner of the principal rear section; now divided into three rooms, this area is much rebuilt.

On the first floor a partition has been erected, creating a passage to the south. In the main room, an axial beam is visible, with exposed peg holes. A chimney opening remains to the south wall; the chimneypiece is not original. Within the principal rear section at first-floor level, there is a corner fireplace, now blocked, in the south-east angle; the slate hearth remains. The 20th-century western extension does not retain historic features.

On the second floor, a partition has been erected enlarging the stair lobby, and the chimneybreast has been removed. The rear wall has been removed to the west, linking the main room with the second-floor extension. In the attic a tie beam is visible in the floor with newly replaced floorboards to the south. On the eastern roof slope rafters are visible, possibly original. A rooflight has been inserted in the centre of the eastern slope. Below the rafters, reclaimed panels have been inserted.

Number 5

Number 5 retains its winder stair rising from ground to second floor around a plank newel. The entrance lobby remains, lined with replacement matchboard panelling. The first flight retains boarded panelling, painted, which is probably original, with some reinforcement. The steps are currently covered, but the underside of the steps, visible in the understair cupboard, demonstrates that these are early. The flight between first and second floors appears to be original, with some replacement of timber. The matchboard panelling to this section is thought to be later, perhaps early 19th century. At second-floor level there is a later turned newel post and balustrade.

On the ground floor, half-height panelling survives to the western portion of the south wall, within what is now the stairwell to the cellar. The stair is not in its original position, and the panelling originally belonged to the main ground-floor room. It is understood that similar panelling survives to the north wall, beneath a modern wall lining. The rear wall between the main room and the principal rear section has been removed. Within this rear section, there is a corner fireplace, now blocked, in the north-east angle. Beyond the rear section, a 20th-century extension, already noted as being of lesser interest, is divided by recent partitions. The basement extends under the main building and the principal rear section, with angled brickwork and a relieving arch in the position of former fireplaces on the floors above.

On the first floor, the stair lobby has been partitioned internally so that the second flight of stairs is only accessible from the first-floor room, reflecting the change from multiple-occupation. In the first-floor room, half-height plain unpainted vertical boarded panelling survives to the north wall, thought to be original. The panelling hides the projection of the chimneybreast to the east, but there is a fireplace with a bead around the opening. The opening contains a hob-grate, probably early 19th century. To the west two cupboards are set into the recess. The door of the upper cupboard has what appears to be original butterfly hinges, whilst those to the lower cupboard are smaller replacements. The panelling above rises to ceiling height. There is an axial beam in this room, apparently more recent than that in the same position at number 3. The floorboards appear to be 19th century.

In the principal rear section the structure of the lean-to roof is exposed. Empty mortices indicate that this area was originally ceiled. The central section is now open, probably as the result of a fire in the 1970s. Some charred timbers which have been re-erected are now decorative. The central section of the brickwork of the main building's west wall is now exposed. The 18th-century brickwork is crude, not conforming to any bond. There is no evidence of any window opening. The floorboards in this area appear to be 19th century, and of a type similar to those within the principal rear section of number 3. As at number 3, there is evidence of a former corner fireplace against the west wall of the main building. Here, to the north, the former hearth is indicated by a diagonal area of concrete. Beyond the principal rear section, the 20th-century extension is divided by recent partitions.

On the second floor, the brickwork of the stack is exposed. This appears to have been rebuilt in the 19th century. The opening is understood to contain a hob-grate. The beams visible in the ceiling of this room are probably 20th-century replacements. The roof structure has been replaced.