21, 23 Bridge Street, Kirkwall

21 and 23 Bridge Street in Kirkwall is an 18th-century town house that was re-fronted in 1882, with later alterations and additions. This two-storey and attic building has a symmetrical rectangular plan with a two-bay gabled elevation facing the street and a three-bay entrance elevation that features a single-storey pitch-roofed porch. The exterior is harled with stugged sandstone dressings and random rubble on the north side. Notable architectural details include a cornice on the entrance porch, long and short margins around the openings on the east and south sides, and timber flagpoles attached to the outer first-floor windows.

On the east gabled elevation, there are three bays at the ground level, featuring a modern, part-glazed door in the center bay, which is adorned with a carved rope moulding surrounding the initials "JJ." Each bay has a window on both floors, and there is a gablehead stack above.

The south entrance elevation has a segmental-headed window in the center bay of the entrance porch, with a block finial above the gable. To the right, there is a modern timber panelled door, and above it, a window at the first floor. The right bay has a tripartite window at ground level and a window at the first floor, while the left bay has a window at the first floor.

The west rear elevation features a lower two-storey house, Number 25, which is listed separately and adjoins on the left. There is an attic window above the main gable, a modern small-pane glazed door at ground level in the right bay, and a window on each floor above, along with a gablehead stack.

The north elevation has a slightly advanced blank full-height bay to the left of center, with a wallhead gable and gablehead stack above. An attic window, set close to the gable, breaks the eaves at the center, and there is a window at the first floor in the right bay.

The building predominantly features four-pane timber sash and case windows, with twelve-pane timber sash and case windows at ground level on the east elevation. The roof is covered with grey slate, has a stone ridge, and stone skews on the porch. The gablehead stacks on the east, west, and north sides are harled with sandstone ashlar cornices, and the building has predominantly uPVC rainwater goods.

The interior was not seen during the last inspection in 1998. The property is enclosed by low harled boundary walls to the east, topped with a ridged ashlar coping, and features spear-headed wrought-iron railings and a similar gate.