61, St Thomas Street

WEYMOUTH

SY6778NE ST THOMAS STREET 873-1/23/351 (West side) No.61

II

Commercial building. Mid C19. Red brick with Portland stone dressings, slate roof. In muscular Venetian Gothic, with practically unchanged facade. EXTERIOR: 3 storeys, 3 windows; a small paired sash, with arched top lights, and 2 plain sashes, in flush alternating jambs and to flush lintel and sill bands, above paired pointed lights with central colonnette shaft, under a continuous label with small leaf stops, to flush alternating chamfered jambs and a sill band. Ground floor has a lofty shop front in fluted pilasters and consoles to a dentil cornice and deep fascia. The recessed door with fluted pilasters is glazed above a fielded panel, and to narrow side-lights. It is flanked by plate-glass display windows, and all under a very deep transom light, the glass replaced by plastic sheet. To the left, in a stone panel and under a simple cornice mould, is a wide pair of original panelled doors in a moulded doorway with double colonnettes, and a stilted segmental head over a deep tripartite transom light, with moulded arch, and spandrels with blind quatrefoils. Above the ground floor are flush alternating quoins, and the deep eaves, between moulded kneelers to a coped raised gables, has close-set carved stone brackets. A large brick stack to the right. The rear wall, in yellow and red brickwork, is in 4 bays, with large 4-pane sashes to segmental heads, an eaves stack, and a long gabled wing. INTERIOR: is severely plain, with simple 4-panel doors, but the main dogleg staircase is retained, with heavy turned newels to acorn finials, turned balusters and a solid moulded string; the staircase hall floor is in patterned tile. Although quite different from the traditional C18 or early C19 Melcombe Regis street front, this is a very characteristic and well-retained facade, reflecting Ruskin's mid-century enthusiasm for Venetian work.

Listing NGR: SY6787578859