25-45, HIGH STREET

Former Skinners’ Hall and shops, now commercial premises, dated 1836 and designed for James Moon. The building is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond, with a Welsh slate roof. It is two storeys high, comprising 17 bays with a slightly projecting 5-bay centre and 4-bay ends. A central round-arched carriageway has imposts and a keystone incorporating the date and the Skinners' Coat of Arms. Number 37 has a house front with a doorway sheltered by a console-bracketed hood, flanked by flat-brick-arched windows of the 20th century. Other properties have shop fronts, with number 25 retaining an old frame but with altered glazing. Number 27's shop front is of the 20th century. Numbers 29 and 31 have an excellent original coupled shop front with a panelled base supporting multipane windows, flanked by doorways. Number 31’s overlight has decorative glazing bars, while number 29’s is plain. Both doors have panelled bases with pilasters supporting a fascia board with flanking consoles and a cornice. Number 33’s shop front is of the 20th century. Numbers 39, 41, and 43 have 20th-century shop fronts but retain 19th-century pilasters surmounted by consoles. The first-floor windows are sash windows with glazing bars, set within reveals with projecting cills and flat brick arches. Number 31 features a clock. At each end of the building, a plaque displays the Skinners’ Coat of Arms. The roof oversails and is supported by brackets at the projecting sections, and incorporates ridge stacks. The rear elevation has segmental-arched windows, some with 16-pane sashes. Number 43 is now part of numbers 45 and 47A.