Nos. 1 and 2 The Roundhouse

Nos. 1 and 2 The Roundhouse is a public house and shop built in 1897 by Major Charles Davis, the City Architect. Constructed from limestone ashlar, the roof is hidden from view. The building is a single depth plan with a rear top-lit extension and is located on a prominent corner site between Cheap Street and Stall Street.

The exterior features three storeys plus an attic and is designed in an enriched Georgian Revival style. No. 1 has a three-bay front, while No. 2 has four bays. The public house frontage of No. 1 includes a contemporary design set below a modillion cornice with consoles, along with panelled stone pilasters. No. 2 has a modern shop front that occupies seven window spaces, featuring sashes in moulded architraves. The first-floor windows have segmental pediments with carved tympanum, and there are six-over-one sashes with rectangular lights above that have margin glazing. The windows above are also six-over-one sashes. A deep frieze band with carved garlands and a dentilled cornice is located above the second-floor windows, topped by a modillion crowning cornice with an ornamented bed mould. An ashlar stack with pots is present on the roof.

The interior has not been inspected. Historically, the building was originally known as the Abbey Wine Vaults, and part of the church of St Mary de Stalle stood on this site until its demolition in the 17th century. The Roundhouse is part of the late Victorian municipal campaign to improve the city centre, executed in a characteristically assertive yet contextual style.