Nos 5-10 (Consec) With Railings

Five terrace houses on the south side of Kingsmead Square, numbered 5 to 10 consecutively, with railings.

Dating to around 1730, these houses were designed by John Strahan. They were altered in the 19th century, suffered bomb damage in 1942, and underwent careful restoration between 1974 and 1975.

The frontages are built in limestone ashlar with rubble and ashlar to the rear. The roofs are double Roman tile at the front and slate at the rear. The terrace forms a consistent row with minor variations in detail, featuring very deep mansard roofs with rear additions made during the post-war reconstruction following bomb damage and neglect.

The exterior consists of three storeys with an attic and basement. Each house has three windows per storey, all fitted with deep eighteen-pane sashes with thick glazing bars in moulded architraves. Nos 5, 6 and 7 feature keystones rising to a ground floor cornice and first floor platband; the right-hand bay of No. 5 has blind lights. No. 7 has aprons below sills, while Nos 7 and 8 each have two twelve-pane sashes to the basement, with small areas enclosed by railings. Nos 8, 9 and 10 have moulded cornices at both ground and first floor levels. Carved capitals below the first floor windows of No. 8 display the inscription "KINGS - MEAD - SQUARE". Eleven dormers, each with paired small-pane casements, punctuate the roofline. The doors are all eight-panel designs in moulded architraves; Nos 5, 6 and 7 have keystones with flat moulded hoods, while Nos 8, 9 and 10 have pediments on brackets. Plain pilaster quoins mark each end, and channelled pilasters frame No. 7. Three lead downpipes with hopperheads and five deep stacks serve the frontage. A moulded cornice with shallow blocking course and parapet crowns the entire front elevation.

The return to Avon Street comprises three bays with eighteen-pane sashes in plain reveals. The ground floor has a door flanked by a paired sash to the left and a single sash to the right, with two dormers above and simple strings at two levels and a small cornice. The return to Trinity Street features two sashes to the right above a central door flanked by a sash to the left and a small light to the right.

The rear elevations are mainly rubble construction with some dormers featuring casements and eighteen-pane sashes at three levels. No. 7 is deeper than the adjoining houses and contains a stair sash with a radial head. Houses at this end of the group have straight drip courses over ground and first floor windows. Nos 8, 9 and 10 have mid-20th century extensions to flat roofs.

Although the interiors were not inspected during the listing survey, reports indicate that Nos 7 and 8 contain shell niches, Nos 7, 8 and 10 retain Georgian fireplaces, and Nos 6, 7, 8 and 10 have good staircases featuring columnar newels, turned balusters with three per stair tread, and panelled walls (photographs of Nos 7 and 8 are held in the National Monument Record).

This terrace experienced severe decline before 1942, when it suffered bomb damage. It faced potential demolition after the War but was carefully restored to present to the Square a frontage as originally intended by Strahan, and now represents the finest elevation of the ensemble. Notably, John Wood, jealous of Strahan's reputation, was dismissive of the architectural quality, remarking that "the Houses in King's Mead Square have nothing, save Ornaments without Taste, to please the Eye".