Numbers 37 And 39 And Attached Front Garden Walls And Piers

A pair of attached houses dating circa 1896, designed by Henry Dare Bryan. They are constructed of snecked Lias rubble with limestone dressings, with a tile-hung second floor, brick ridge and diagonally-set gable stacks, and a tile hip and gable roof. The properties follow a double-depth plan and are built in the Queen Anne style. They are three storeys high and have a two-window range. The design is symmetrical, with entrances in the sides, central paired full-height bays, large dormers above, and stone-framed ground-floor windows. The carved doorcases feature grotesque faces flanking mullion overlights, acanthus brackets, a large shell hood, and elliptical-arched, battened double doors. Ground-floor windows are mullion and transom; first-floor windows are timber plate-glass casements with glazing bars above the transoms. Outer ground-floor windows are three-light; they are fitted with a balcony with railings and turned posts to an elliptical arch supporting the overhanging eaves, with casements flanking a glazed door behind. The canted central bays are separated by a buttress. Above are large, paired, half-timbered dormers with four-light casement windows. The roof pitch extends sideways to cover small oriels at either end beneath the gable eaves. The rear elevation is flat, with semicircular-arched stair lights, and includes a single-storey service block. The interior was not inspected. The properties are accompanied by attached front garden walls and piers with ball finials. The design was strongly influenced by Norman Shaw's Bedford Park, dating from 1881.