23 and 25 Castle Street

This pair of townhouses was built in the early 19th century and has undergone several changes of use over time, initially serving as residential properties, then as shops in the 1950s, offices in the 1960s, combined into a single unit in the 1970s or 1980s, and finally converted into flats around 2000.

The building is constructed of red brick, which is fully rendered and painted grey on the north side facing Castle Street. The roof is covered with slate. The building’s internal layout follows a double-pile plan on an irregular plot.

The north front, which is the principal elevation, is three storeys high plus a basement, and has four bays under a pitched roof. The original division of the two houses is still visible on this front, appearing as two-window units. The ground floor has three timber sash windows with six-over-six glazing. The second bay from the east features a six-panelled door with a fanlight, set within a late 20th-century fluted timber doorcase. A plat band runs across the elevation at the height of the ground-floor ceiling. The first and second floors each have four timber sash windows; those on the first floor have six-over-six glazing, while those on the second floor have a three-over-three design.

The rear, south elevation also has four openings on each floor, including the basement. Most of these openings are timber sash windows with either six-over-six or three-over-three glazing. At basement level, there is a late 20th-century half-glazed door flanked by smaller sash windows.