55 And 57, Southgate Street

55 and 57 Southgate Street is a pair of shops and former dwellings, dating from the early 18th century, with possible earlier origins and later alterations in the 19th and 20th centuries. The buildings are constructed of brick painted white, topped with a slate roof featuring a hipped roof dormer above each unit and a brick chimney stack. They are arranged in a double-depth block and rise two storeys with an attic.

The front facade displays two 20th-century shop fronts. On the first floor, each unit has two windows; No. 55 features 19th-century plain sash windows, while No. 57 has 20th-century fixed lights, all set in openings with rubbed brick and flat arches. Each attic dormer contains a pair of casement windows. At the right end of the 20th-century eaves gutter, there is a rainwater pipe with a decorative lead rainwater head.

Inside, No. 57 has stop-chamfered beams on the first and ground floors, a two-panel door leading to the attic, and a small fireplace with a stone surround and cast-iron grate. No. 55 has undergone alterations on the ground floor but retains some original beams. This building is one of the earliest properties in this prominent group at the south end of Southgate Street.