Ralph Allen House

Ralph Allen House is a detached house, now functioning as a Post Office Service Centre, built around 1840 and restored in the late 20th century. It is constructed from limestone ashlar and features a slate roof. The building has a symmetrical gabled design with a single depth plan and a single-storey gabled rear wing.

The exterior consists of three storeys and a basement, with a front that has three windows. All windows are sashes, with six panes over twelve panes on the ground and first floors, both of which have iron balconettes. The first floor has a central blind light, while the basement features a twelve-pane window. The entrance is a central six-panel door set within a portico that has double pilasters with sunk panels and an entablature on consoles, topped by a deep projecting cornice. The façade includes a plinth, four broad channelled pilasters that rise through two floors and are set in from the corners, an interlaced mid-band, a two-stage plain frieze, and a moulded cornice that returns to the façade. The high attic features upper windows with a band, frieze, and cornice, while the gables are coped and each has a deep two-stage ashlar stack.

The rear of the building has twelve-pane sash windows set in plain ashlar walling, with a central door leading to the landing. The rear wing has an outer coped gable with a two-light casement featuring margin panes, and a similar deep French casement to the north, along with a twelve-pane sash window. The interior has been considerably modified.

Historically, this building is part of the railway-associated development in the area and features a distinctive and transitional façade, marked by the unusual Neoclassical style with four rusticated pilasters. The entrance porch reflects influences from the Italianate style.