Nos 1 To 3 Laburnum Cottages; 20 And 20A

Nos 1 to 3 Laburnum Cottages; 20 and 20A Mantle Street

This is a mixed group of commercial premises and cottages occupying a single urban plot. Nos 20 and 20A Mantle Street comprise a modest 18th-century dwelling converted to commercial use in the late 19th century. A terrace of cottages runs to the rear, probably dating from the 18th and early 19th centuries.

The buildings employ varied materials. Nos 20 and 20A are painted brick with a slate roof; No. 1 Laburnum Cottages is rendered brick with a slate roof; and Nos 2–3 are of painted random rubble with pantiles. All except No. 1 have brick chimney stacks. The plan is accretional, with Nos 20 and 20A fronting Mantle Street and Nos 1–3 Laburnum Cottages running at right angles to the rear.

Nos 20 and 20A present a two-bay painted brick front elevation on the north side facing Mantle Street, with a later 19th-century double shop front at ground level. The fascia above is supported on panelled pilasters. To the right is a hornless sash window with two further sash windows at first floor, and a timber dormer in the roof pitch. A passage entry with a cambered head and timber lintel at the rear occupies the ground floor to the right. The rear (south) elevation comprises a window to the right of the entry, casement windows to the first floor, and a timber dormer in the roof.

No. 1 Laburnum Cottages is a two-storey, two-bay building with a lower elevation than the adjacent structures. Its front (west) elevation features a central entrance with a 20th-century timber door and porch canopy, flanked by two-light window openings, with two further two-light openings at first floor. All windows have been refenestrated in the late 20th century. Lean-to extensions extend to the rear.

Nos 2–3 form a two-storey range with a catslide roof to the rear (east) elevation. Each has an entrance door with a trellised porch and two- and three-light casements with timber cills to the front (west) elevation. No. 3 also features a late 19th-century three-light bay window at ground floor.

Interior inspection was limited to No. 1, where the entrance opens into a single room retaining evidence of a blocked doorway and window opening within the right-hand wall, which was formerly the gable wall of No. 2.

Stylistically, Nos 2–3 Laburnum Cottages appear to date from the 18th century. No. 1 was constructed between the rear wall of No. 20 and the north gable wall of No. 2, postdating the adjacent buildings. It may originally have been used as stabling or storage before conversion to a dwelling.

These buildings together form an important group within the historic core of the town. Nos 20 and 20A represent a modest 18th-century dwelling adapted for commercial purposes, while Nos 1–3 Laburnum Cottages exemplify vernacular dwellings of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Although No. 1 has undergone considerable alteration and is of lesser architectural interest than its neighbours, the group collectively contributes significantly to the character of this part of the town.