The Former Zetland Cocoa Rooms

The Former Zetland Cocoa Rooms

Commercial premises, built between 1879 and 1889 as a temperance refreshment rooms for the Countess of Zetland. The building is designed in the Queen Anne style.

The structure is constructed from coursed, squared limestone with a limestone ashlar plinth, quoins and cill bands. The roof is covered in Welsh slate with cast iron rainwater goods.

The building is two storeys tall beneath a hipped roof. The principal elevations face east and north, each featuring full-height projecting bays with flat fronts but curved sides. On the ground floor of these bays, the windows have sunrise-pattern upper lights above 12-pane lower lights, all formed with timber glazing bars. Between the sunrise light and window lintel sits a corbel flanked by small leaded lights; the curved sides of the bay are also leaded. The window lintels have dentilated cornices supporting scrolled pediments that project from the timber panelling rising to the upper floor window cill. The central panels are decorated with double festoons. The upper windows are cross-mullioned, each with two 4-paned upper lights above two 6-paned lower lights, with leaded side lights to the curved bay sections. The lintels are again dentilated, continuing as an eaves cornice around the building to support the deeply overhanging roof.

The east elevation is asymmetric, featuring three full-height projecting bays. The entrance is positioned between the southern two bays and has an ornate timber canopy forming an open porch, supported by shaped timber brackets and featuring a dentilated cornice matching the windows. A square lantern sign displaying "The Old Cocoa Rooms" hangs in front of the canopy. Above the canopy is a decorative wrought iron surround for a sign topped with a Countess's crown; the sign itself is modern. The southernmost ground floor window has lost the glazing bars to its lower light. Rising from the centre of the roof between the northern two bays is a four-flue chimney stack; a second, shorter stack rises from the centre of the southern end wall. Both stacks have a Roman Doric entablature with a frieze featuring triglyphs, and square chimney pots with simple cornices.

The north elevation is broadly symmetrical except for a slight ground floor projection to the west. It features two full-height projecting bays. The western ground floor window has lost the glazing bars to its lower light, though the sunrise glazing bars above remain intact.

The south elevation is asymmetric and utilitarian, including a metal fire-escape staircase to the upper floor.

The west elevation abuts the neighbouring public house.

The interior is simply detailed but includes cornicing to ceilings. Original fireplaces have been lost, though chimney breasts are retained. The principal ground floor room to the north-east has wood panelling to dado level, with some original panelling but most being modern renovation.

The internal layout has undergone some alteration, including the addition of a glazed partition on the ground floor and the insertion of new doors and archways through the original internal walls.