Nelson Buildings

Nelson Buildings, dating from 1815 to 1820, is a group of four houses designed as a single building. The structure is four storeys high, with a half-basement and attic, and is built of stucco, which has been painted. It features wide projecting eaves supported by coupled consoles, and has a roughly "H" shape with slightly projecting wings. The roof is hipped and tiled, with flat-roofed attic dormers featuring sash windows. Most of the original sash windows remain, complete with original glazing bars, and keyblocks at the first and second floor levels. The left-hand wing (No. 78) has been refaced with cement and features a later three-storey splayed bay window. No. 81, in the right-hand wing, has a shallow bow window with three-light sashes on the first, second, and third floors.

The first floor has cast iron balconies, and a bust of Nelson is housed in a small niche in the centre of the building. The ground floor of No. 79 retains original railings to the basement and a doorway featuring an entablature, pilasters, panelled reveals, a door, and a traceried rectangular fanlight containing a lamp. No. 78 has a later 19th-century shop front with narrow pilasters and a cornice. No. 80 features a Victorian shop front with a high fascia and blind case, while No. 81 retains its original shop front with pilasters and plate glass.

Nelson Buildings, together with other listed buildings along the High Street from No. 118, form a historic group.