5, Ridge Hill

No. 5, Ridge Hill is a small house dating from the mid-19th century. It is constructed of plastered stone rubble, with end stacks featuring exposed and plastered brick chimneyshafts topped with pots, and a slate roof. The plan comprises a double-depth layout, with two rooms wide, a central passage, a rear staircase, a secondary service front doorway to the right of the passage, leading to an unheated rear service room, with the principal rooms situated to the left.

The exterior is two storeys high, with a two-window front. The plastered front is superficially detailed to resemble ashlar, with flanking end pilasters. The main front doorway, positioned to the right of centre, has a moulded stucco surround with console brackets supporting a moulded entablature; it contains a recessed door of two vertical panels, over which is an overlight with glazing bars. A service doorway to the right has a door with small top-glazed panels and two vertical panels below. A ground-floor window to the left is set within a shallow bay, flanked by round-headed panels and a moulded cornice. The first-floor windows have small shoulders to flat arches and moulded architraves with keystones. All windows are horned 4-pane sashes. The eaves are plain. The roof is parallel, with a gable end on the left, which steps up the hillside.

Inside, the house retains surprisingly good features for its size. A top-lit staircase rises around a wall, including a mahogany handrail and stick balusters. The principal rooms have moulded plaster cornices and panelled doors, with the inner porch door featuring coloured glass in margin glazing. The house lacks an original kitchen. The presence of a separate service entrance is unusual for a house of this size, suggesting it may have been built as a holiday cottage. It is one of a group of similar small houses and listed buildings situated at the bottom of Ridge Hill.