The Varisty Cafe

The Varsity Cafe occupies a building of mixed origins, dating back to the 16th century, though significantly altered in the 18th and 19th centuries. The building is two storeys high and originally had three windows, though the original building at number 22 Dragon Street has been demolished, and the address now incorporates part of the original structure. The front facade is brick, built in the early 18th century, and replaces an earlier timber frame. The roof is tiled at a steep pitch, with a half-hipped design, and features a prominent chimney stack composed of three shafts. A new brick return wall was constructed on the left side following the demolition of the original number 22. A decorative band runs along the first floor. The windows are generally horizontal sliding sash windows with glazing bars, though there is an older canted bay window with glazing bars on the ground floor to the left, and a more modern oriel bay window on the right, above the entrance. Two altered doors from the early 19th century are grouped together under a hood, which also extends over the bay window to the left. The rear of the building retains visible timber framing with brick infill, and is extended with two half-hipped, gabled additions. The building forms a group with numbers 14 to 28 (even), the Gazebo, and the garden walls of Dragon House, to the north and east.