202 AND 204, HIGH STREET

Nos. 202 and 204 High Street are two shops built around 1820 to 1840, with later alterations, including changes made in the 1890s to the left side. The ground-floor shop fronts were updated in the 1960s and 1980s. The building features stucco over brick, a concealed roof, and an iron balustrade. The left side has Art Nouveau style alterations.

The main part of the building on the right has three storeys with four first-floor windows, while the left side has a two- and three-storey range that curves around the corner and has a blind first floor. The main range includes first- and second-floor bands, a crowning frieze, cornice, and blocking course. The first floor has 2/2 horizontal-pane sash windows, and the second floor has 6/6 sash windows. The ground floor features plate-glass shop windows and doors, with a rounded corner on the right. The right return has two first-floor windows matching the main facade, and the rear retains 6/6 sash windows.

The left range has blind upper stages, with the ground floor showcasing a plate glass window and a glazed entrance, along with a broad canopy that curves around the corner and is suspended from brackets. This section has a late 19th-century frieze and cornice. The rear features an Art Nouveau shop front with three slender mullions and a curved motif at the top, along with a fluted pilaster at the left end, a continuous frieze, and cornice. The first floor has a blind window with a tooled architrave.

The interior has not been inspected. A continuous balustrade with Art Nouveau detailing surmounts the canopy. Historically, the plot appears on Merrett's Map of 1834, and by 1845, the High Street was known for its shops, boarding houses, and hotels. This building occupies a prominent corner site and frames one of the entryways to the parish Church of St Mary on Church Street. The detailing on the rear of No. 202 is similar to that of the adjacent No. 200 High Street, and the Art Nouveau detailing resembles that of No. 52 Promenade.