2, Albemarle Villas

No. 2 Albemarle Villas is a villa built in 1827 by John Foulston, part of a planned group of buildings. It features stucco with stucco detailing and slate hanging on part of the right-hand side, topped with a bitumen-grouted slate hipped roof that has projecting eaves. The villa has a double-depth plan with a large saloon at the front and an entrance hall behind the left-hand side.

The exterior is two storeys high with a three-window range on the forecourt front and a symmetrical three-window entrance front on the left-hand return. It has corner pilasters with an incised Greek key design. The forecourt front includes a three-bay wrought-iron balcony with decorative spandrels and curvilinear details on the first floor, supported by paired brackets, and features two-pane sash windows. The entrance front has a central tripartite window with a moulded hood resting on paired pilasters, original hornless sashes with glazing bars, although the sidelights and other sashes on this elevation are painted over. A central porch made of vermiculated rusticated stucco has a moulded entablature with a modillion cornice, and there are a pair of glazed and panelled doors to the right side of the porch facing the road.

Inside, the villa retains a virtually complete interior with many fine features, including an ornate plaster ceiling in the saloon, panelled shutters, panelled doors within moulded architraves, an open-well staircase with an open string and stick balusters, an old sink in the scullery, and a late 19th-century cast-iron range in the basement. The forecourt railings are included as a separate item. This villa is noted as one of the best-preserved examples in this distinguished group designed by Foulston.