Former Francis Hairdresser's Shop

Former Francis Hairdresser's Shop

This is a late 19th-century shop occupying the ground floor of a mid-19th-century terraced townhouse. The building was converted to a hairdresser's around 1930 and subsequently to a tearoom around 2004.

The shop front extends across the full width of the terraced property and projects forward of the original front wall, having been extended over what was formerly the front garden. The entrance is centrally positioned and set back, with a plain plate glass shop window to the right. The entire frontage is framed with timber pilasters featuring scrolled console brackets that support a dentilated cornice. While much of the shop front dates to the late 19th century, the facia below the cornice is thought to date to the 1930s. It is constructed from pearlescent peach Vitrolite imitating alabaster and carries applied black lettering in an art deco style font reading "FRANCIS". The shop entrance porch has a black and red tiled floor with a marble step. The door itself is panelled with an etched glass upper panel bearing the name FRANCIS, and has a plain rectangular overlight above. To the far left is the front door to the domestic accommodation above the shop, separated from the commercial entrance by blank walling. This door is six-panelled and also has a plain overlight. The upper floors of the building are not included in the listing. Only the ground floor front exterior of the domestic accommodation (7a South Street), as it forms part of the shop front, is included.

The ground floor interior, excluding the separate domestic entrance hall and basement staircase, comprises a single room forming the commercial premises. At the front of the shop is a large built-in display cabinet on the right and a smaller one on the left. Beyond these, on the right-hand side, is a series of five timber-panelled booths, the rear-most of which (and largest) originally comprised two booths. Halfway back on the left-hand side is a further booth that has been modified. The booths are framed in mahogany and extend just above head height, finished with a cornice. Some panels are glazed with etched glass and each booth was originally closed with a door having a decorative etched glass upper panel. Two doors remain attached, now forming part of the panelling, with others removed to a cupboard. Most booths retain a small 1930s column radiator, a mirror, and a plywood panel marking the original position for a sink. The floor is of hardwood strips, also considered to date to the 1930s. The room is lit by electric chandeliers, with the one closest to the shop front also part of the 1930s refit. The rear of the shop is lit by a large mullion and transomed window with 19th-century stained glass in a geometric design.