5 And 6, Mansion Row

A pair of houses located in Mansion Row, Gillingham, dated 1775 as inscribed on a rear hopper. Constructed with Flemish bond brick and stone dressings, the houses feature party wall stacks and a tiled valley roof, with No. 5’s stack at a right angle to the street and No. 6’s parallel. The architectural style is mid-Georgian. The plan is of a double-depth format.

Each house has three storeys and a three-window facade. They share a thin brick cornice and parapet. A matching timber doorcase with pilasters leading to an open pediment frames the round-arched doorway, which has panelled reveals, a fanlight, and a six-panelled door. The ground floor windows are 6/6-pane sashes within flush frames, set beneath rubbed brick flat arches. The second floor windows are 3/3-pane sashes. First floor windows in No. 5 have been lengthened in the mid-20th century to incorporate French windows with steel basket balconies. A lead hopper at the rear of No. 5 is inscribed ‘R/E/E/1775’. The rear parapet of No. 5 has a mid-20th century extension. The interior has not been inspected. The buildings were originally built as a pair with No. 7 to the left. The staggered initials on the hopper typically indicate a marriage date.