1-16, BUTCHERS ROW

A row of shops and houses built in 1855 by RD Gould of Barnstaple, originally comprising 33 butchers' shops, most of which have now been amalgamated into 11 shops with a 12th at the rear opening onto Church Walk. A house is situated above the western end.

The building is constructed of bath stone, now painted, with the house rendered; it has hipped slated roofs and flat, leaded canopies in front. The shops are arranged in two groups separated by the entrance to Church Walk. Each shop has a frontage of approximately 10 feet 10 inches and a height of around 14 feet, with a 7-foot canopy projecting over the pavement. A two-storey house is positioned above the western end. Originally, a house was also present at the eastern end, now separately listed as No.96 Boutport Street. The original entrances to the shops under the canopies were through arches at each end, with matching arches on the north side, which were removed in 1961.

The building is designed as an arcade featuring 17 arches in the right-hand range and 18 in the left-hand range. The arches are segmental-headed, with short vertical sides and spring from square, chamfered, stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops. Each arch has a moulded archivolt and keystone which merge into a raised band. Above this is a moulded wooden canopy carried on arch-braced brackets.

The shops contain sash windows, predominantly with a single upright glazing bar, and plank doors divided to allow the lower section to be closed while the upper part remains open. Two arches at the western end now contain late 20th-century display windows; the house above has a two-window front with moulded architraves, keystones in the lower storey, and two-paned sashes with margin-panes, except for the lower-left window, which is a French window. A raised band marks the division between the storeys. A similar sash window with architrave is located on the upper floor facing east.

The side walls facing Church Walk exhibit similar arcading to the shops, but with round arches. The canopy moulding runs as an eaves cornice. There are two arches to the east and three to the west, all of which are blind, except for the southern arch on the west side, which provides access to a small shop through half-glazed double doors with flush lower panels.