8-36 Monson Road

This terrace of shops and offices dates from around 1870 and runs along Monson Road. It is built over four storeys, with shops at street level and residential accommodation above. The ground-floor shops originally had prominent, large, canted windows with colonnettes at the corners, and central entrances marked by slender cast-iron columns with barleysugar shafts. A significant number of these historic shopfront details remain in several properties including numbers 16, 18, 20, and 26. A walkway runs along the top of the terrace, bordered by a decorative cast-iron balustrade incorporating lamp standards. Round-headed doorways provide access to the walkway from the street via steps, and the spaces between the shopfronts are emphasised by tiled pilasters. Above the walkway, the buildings are constructed of yellow brick with stucco dressings, and feature timber sash windows. Each building has a small pedimented gable, some with paired windows and others with a single window, topped by a double-height canted bay with cast-iron colonnettes at the angles. Moulded storey bands and cornices mark each storey and the eaves. Numbers 8 to 36 (even) form a unified group.