7, Smith Street

A shop and house, originally part of a larger merchant's house dating to the 17th century or earlier, was largely rebuilt in the late 18th and early 19th centuries with later modernisation. The building is constructed of stone rubble side walls and plastered timber-framed front and back walls, with stone rubble stacks in the left-hand side wall and rendered brick chimneyshafts. The roof is slate. The original layout included a front block, gallery, and rear block. In the early 19th century, the entire building was raised and a staircase was built in the former courtyard, connected to the front by a passageway on the right-hand side.

The three-storey front has been modernised with a timber shop front, featuring single-light plate glass windows on glazed brick stallboards, either side of a recessed, bottom-panelled glazed door. A passage doorway to the right has an overlight with a central glazing bar. The shop front is topped by a fascia with a moulded cornice and cast-iron crest, featuring depictions of stooks of wheat. The facade above is plastered to resemble ashlar with rusticated quoins, and contains late 19th-century horned four-pane sashes. The roof is hipped. The east end is roughcast, but shows sections of the ancient side wall, which corbels out to support jetties. The former courtyard gap has been filled with slate-hung timber-framing, incorporating sash windows with multiple panes.

Inside, the side passage has a stone-flagged floor, leading to a small courtyard/light well and a stair block with a stick-baluster staircase. Later 18th and 19th century joinery and other features are present throughout.