Nos. 17 and 18 New Street

Nos. 17 and 18 New Street

A pair of former 17th-century merchants' houses, one of which was re-fronted and converted into a fish warehouse in the 19th century. Both buildings were converted into flats in the late 20th century.

No. 17 has a plastered timber-framed front, while No. 18 is constructed of Plymouth limestone rubble with segmental brick arches over the openings. Both buildings form part of a row with deep plans and narrow single-bay fronts facing onto New Street. The ground floor contains a shop and utilities, with three flats on each of the floors above that extend across the width of both buildings.

No. 17 is a three-storey building with an attic and is jettied. The ground floor features a central moulded doorway with turned-and-carved stops and a timber-plank door with decorative strap hinges, standing above a stone step. On either side are four-light diamond-leaded timber-mullioned windows. A moulded slate-roof jetty with a dentilled entablature projects above the first floor, which contains a central six-light diamond-leaded oriel window with splayed sidelights and two flanking lights. The oriel is supported by three carved timber brackets, with exposed timber framing visible on either side. A deep second-floor slate-roof jetty overhangs the window. The second floor has a central six-light window beneath a steep slate roof with projecting front eaves. The exposed part of the left-hand gable end is faced with hanging slates.

No. 18 is four storeys and has a wide central entrance on the ground floor with a recessed 20th-century door topped by a timber-clad lintel and relieving brick arch. The three floors above originally had one long single opening on the first and second floors; these have been infilled to create a two-light window and Juliet balcony on each floor. Small single-light windows flank these openings. The third floor has a two-light window. All windows are late 20th-century insertions. The slate roof is pitched.

The rear of both buildings is abutted by No. 16, with only the top floor visible, including two single-light stair windows.

The ground floor shop in No. 17 contains a large splayed fireplace with an ovolo-moulded lintel and flagstone floor. A 20th-century glazed partitioned office occupies the right side, while the remains of a blocked newel staircase (locally termed a pole staircase) survive in the left corner. No. 18 has a lobby and service rooms providing access to the flats above. Two timber newel staircases to the rear of both buildings originally serviced each building separately; the left one (No. 18) now functions as the principal staircase, while the right one (No. 17) has been blocked. The interior of the first-floor oriel window in No. 17 features carved timber supports with ogee stops. Fireplace recesses are evident on the upper floors. A 17th-century fireplace was recorded within No. 18 in the 1970s, though no evidence of it survives. Both buildings have timber A-frame roof constructions.