No 23 And Attached Forecourt Railings

No. 23 is a town house built around 1808 by architect William Wood, who oversaw much of the development of Lemon Street. The building features a granite ashlar basement, with local freestone ashlar above and a dry Delabole slate roof behind a parapet, along with brick end stacks. It has a double-depth plan and consists of two storeys plus a 20th-century attic over the basement, with a two-window front. The left side has a round-headed doorway with a six-panel door and a spoked fanlight. There is a first-floor sill string, a moulded parapet cornice, and possibly original hornless sash windows with glazing bars under shallow segmental arches that have projecting key blocks. The interior has not been inspected but is likely to be of interest. The property also features original latticed wrought-iron railings to the right of the doorway and over the forecourt walls, which lead down to granite steps to the basement. Historically, a house was first built on this site around 1803 by Hitchens, but it was destroyed by a storm in January 1804.