43 Castle Street

Townhouse, constructed during the late C18, extended by the mid-C19, converted to offices by 1953.

MATERIALS: the front elevation of the building is of red brick in Flemish bond, with a timber and stone doorcase and iron railings. The rear (south) elevation of the building is of vitrified, silver grey-brick in header bond with red-brick detailing and a timber doorcase. The roof covering is slate with lead-covered, timber dormers.

PLAN: double-pile plan.

EXTERIOR: the building is two storeys across five bays on its principal, north elevation, and three storeys across five bays on its rear (southern) elevation overlooking Rose Walk. The M-shaped roof contains three round-arched dormers facing onto Castle Street, while the gable end walls of the northern half of the building, now mostly concealed by later buildings, have Flemish gables. Large, brick chimney stacks rise from each of the gable end walls between the front and rear pitched roofs.

The principal Castle Street elevation is symmetrically arranged, with a central doorway flanked by two pairs of timber sash windows with six-over-six glazing, flat-arched heads and black painted cills, and five sash windows on the first floor of a matching design to the ground floor. The doorway consists of a six-panelled door with a sunburst cast-iron fanlight over, set within a Doric porch with stone columns rising from stone bases to a timber, moulded open pediment. Early-C19 iron spearhead railings surround a narrow front area to either side of the doorway. Immediately above the first-floor window heads is a dentil cornice of timber or plaster, followed by a red-brick, stone-coped parapet.

The rear elevation is symmetrically arranged over three storeys plus basement. It is faced in silver-grey brickwork in header bond with red-brick window surrounds and surrounds linked by columns of red brick. The raised ground floor contains a central entrance comprising a modern, half-glazed door with a sunburst fanlight above, contained within a timber porch with Doric pilasters rising to a moulded, open pediment. The doorway is accessed via a late-C20 brick flight of steps. To either side of the doorway are pairs of recent timber sashes. On the first and second floors are five, evenly-spaced, timber sash windows with six-over-six glazing and painted cills. Between the first and second floors is a dentil cornice in rubbed red brick. At basement level are four windows under flat-arched heads.

INTERIOR: the interior of the front range is understood to contain a staircase of around 1800.