34, Gay Street

34 Gay Street is a house that has been converted into a shop with accommodation above. It was built around 1735-1740 and altered in the late 19th century by John Wood the Elder. The building is constructed of limestone ashlar and features a slate mansard roof with dormers and a moulded stack on the right-hand party wall.

The exterior consists of three storeys with an attic and basement, and the house is lower than its neighbouring properties. It has a coped parapet and a stopped cornice, with plate glass sash windows that have painted splayed reveals. To the left, there is a six-panel door with a semicircular cobweb fanlight. On the right, a canted shop window from around 1870 features a dentil cornice on the fascia, moulded colonnettes, and a half-glazed door to the left, set between moulded pilasters and consoles that support a continued cornice. The building also has two flat-topped dormers with six-over-six sash windows.

At the rear, there is a weatherboarded extension that was added in 1882 by H.J. Garland, a surveyor. The interior was not inspected. Historically, this house is part of an irregular terrace of three houses that were developed alongside Nos. 2-12 George Street. The ground lease for the entire plot was taken by John Wood the Elder on August 6, 1733, and building leases were granted starting in 1734, with the Gay Street houses being inhabited and rated by 1740. This house appears to have been one of the last built in this section, which is noted for being the least cohesive and most altered stretch of Gay Street, resulting in its lower grade compared to other sections. The rear extension once housed the photographic studio of William Friese-Green, a pioneer of the moving image.