Dovedale Cottages

Dovedale Cottages are a group of almshouses, now arranged as flats, built in 1841 for people in reduced circumstances, commissioned by Mrs Lightfoot and her daughter, Mary. The buildings are constructed of white brick laid in a Flemish bond, with cement dressings and slate roofs. The design is based on a three-part symmetrical plan, with a projecting central section of three windows that was originally a chapel and is taller than the flanking sections. An entrance to No. 6 is set under a four-centred Tudor arch, while other openings have flat arches. The street facade has two entrances to each lower wing, with single-light windows above, and dormers near the ends. The other windows are three-light casements with narrow mullions, creating an alternating pattern on the first floor. First-floor windows in the central section have mullions and a transom. A decorative oriel window sits above the centre entrance, with a gable inset featuring a roundel of a dove bearing an olive branch. The roof is gabled, with boxed eaves on the front wall, and the central gable above the former chapel is prominent. A lintel band runs along the ground floor, and a sill band is present on the first floor. The fire wall of the central range has its own parapet and coping, higher than those of the side ranges, which also finish with a parapet and coping to their gables. Two stacks are present on each low side wing, one at the peak of the parapet and the other near the fire wall of the central range. The stacks on the central range are built into the parapet end walls. The group of almshouses forms a distinguished composition alongside the former St Stephen's church.