Nos 26, 28 and 30 and Railings to Front is a Grade II* listed building in the Cumberland local planning authority area, England. First listed on 1 June 1949. Terrace of houses. 7 related planning applications.

Nos 26, 28 and 30 and Railings to Front

WRENN ID
wild-bronze-yew
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Cumberland
Constituency
Carlisle MP: Ms Julie Minns (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
1 June 1949
Type
Terrace of houses
Address
Nos 26, 28 and 30 and Railings to Front, Castle Street, CA3 8TP
OS grid reference
NY 398 560
Coordinates
54.89552, -2.93987
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: sale history · EPC · related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

A terrace of three houses, now used as offices, flats, and a restaurant, built in 1823 for and by Paul Nixson, a Carlisle architect who also had his own marble works. The houses are constructed of calciferous sandstone ashlar, with rustication on the ground floor, sill bands, and a modillioned eaves cornice. They have a graduated greenslate roof with skylights and dormer windows at the rear, along with 19th-century brick chimney stacks, some of which are rendered and painted. The terrace is three storeys high and has nine bays, with each house consisting of three bays, and being double-depth.

Three left-hand railed gates in a railed void provide access down stone steps to cellar doors located beneath each entrance. Each house has steps leading to a panelled door and overlight featuring a Greek-key pattern, set within a prostyle Ionic porch. The ground floor and cellar windows are sash windows with glazing bars in plain reveals, while the first-floor windows are sash windows with glazing bars, set within stone architraves with cornices and panelled aprons; those above the doorways have console brackets. Smaller attic windows are also present.

The interior features moulded plaster ceilings on both floors, some decorated with roundels and panels, and a rib-vaulted hall in No. 26. Panelled internal shutters are found at the front and rear. There are good 19th-century white and black marble fireplaces in most principal rooms; a particularly fine white marble fireplace with a figured frieze, likely carved by David Dunbar (Nixson's principal sculptor), is located in the first-floor room of No. 26. Nixson was known for his carved fireplaces. Panelled doors are set within panelled reveals, some made of mahogany. Original staircases remain, including a spiral staircase with patterned cast-iron balusters in a domed well within No. 26.

Historical records in the Carlisle Patriot of 5 July 1823 stated that the houses would be “a great ornament to the town” with their beautiful white stone and architecture. This identification has been confirmed by BC Jones. An initial misattribution of the construction date to 1829 was based on incorrect land tax assessment records.

Local climate

Nos 26, 28 and 30 and Railings to Front sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,100 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 87% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 80% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 51 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 93% of listed buildings. Of these, 27 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
  • Sale history — 4 transactions since 2007
  • Related listed building consents — 7 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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