55, High Street

No. 55 High Street is a house with a shop located at the end of a row, dating from the mid-18th century. It has a painted brick front, rubble returns, and a slate roof with brick stacks. This narrow-frontage property features a return flank to Mill Street and a gabled rear.

The exterior consists of three storeys and an attic, with two windows. There is a central raking dormer with slate cheeks housing a 4-pane sash window, situated above a 9-pane sash and a plain sash, all framed by brick voussoirs with a stone key and V-joint stone quoins at either end of the front. The ground floor showcases an early 20th-century Art Nouveau shop front, which includes a deep-set door positioned off-centre to the right, and curved returns leading to plate display windows. These windows are divided by very thin mullions with bases and capitals, topped with decorative fretted heads, all beneath a deep fascia with a reeded cornice and pilasters supporting heavy consoles with pedimented heads.

To the right of the building, there is a main stack, along with a full-height brick stack integrated into the rubble of the rear gable, which features coping and small kneelers. The three-storey return to Mill Street has brick dressings and includes 9-pane and 12-pane sash windows, as well as a 19th-century six-panel door towards the left end.

The interior has not been generally inspected, but it features a 19th-century straight-flight staircase with square newels that rises from the shop floor. The delicately detailed display front is a notable survival.