Cross Hayes House And Attached Wall, Railings And Gate Posts

Cross Hayes House is an early 18th-century house, dated 1728 on a hopper, with later extensions from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Its construction incorporates limestone ashlar and rubble, brick gable stacks, and a stone slate roof with rear cross gables. The architectural style is early Georgian. The house follows a T-shaped double-depth plan, with a rear southeastern infill extension.

The two-storey main block, with an attic and cellar, presents a symmetrical three-window facade. It features banded pilaster strips, a first-floor string course, a cornice, a parapet, and coped end gables. The windows have moulded surrounds and segmental head details. A doorway is sheltered by a flat canopy supported by scrolled brackets, above which is a rectangular overlight with a lantern. The door itself is a six-panel design with glazed top panels. The windows are six-over-six pane sashes, and there are two gabled dormers with 20th-century casements. The right return side has a foundation stone inscribed "WC 1728", along with a dated lead hopper. A one-window extension to the right has a doorway and a first-floor six-over-six pane sash set beneath a half gable. A single-storey screen wall in front includes a round-arched recess with an inserted doorway. The rear elevation showcases two gables, the larger one on the left, behind a cornice and parapet. A late 18th-century semi-circular, full-height bay is centrally placed, featuring three six-over-six pane sashes to each floor. A mid-18th-century canted bay with a ground-floor Venetian window (with an elliptical-arched head and eight-over-twelve pane sash), alongside eight-over-eight pane sashes above, is incorporated within the southeastern extension. Round-arched windows are found in the gables.

Inside, original features are preserved, including a central lateral open-well dogleg staircase with a curtail, column-on-vase balusters, and a moulded ramped handrail. Downstairs rooms feature panelling, moulded cornices, and ceiling beams. Other original details include rear eared fire surrounds, four- and six-panel doors, panelled shutters, decorative fireplaces, and vaulted cellars.

Attached brick ramped walls enclose the front area, featuring spear-headed railings and cast-iron gate posts, formerly topped with urns. Attached railings define the rear garden. The house is a very fine example of a town house, making a prominent contribution to the townscape.