Ariunfa

Ariunfa: Nos 1-4 Station Road

A three-storey terrace of 4 late Victorian townhouses, probably built around 1885 as a speculative development. The terrace exemplifies the new prosperity and optimism brought to Bala and other rural market towns by the arrival of the railway in the third quarter of the 19th century. The red brick and terracotta used in its construction were clearly brought in by rail, marking a significant shift from the indigenous vernacular building tradition dependent on local materials to a more homogenised, geographically non-specific speculative architecture employing standardised materials and design.

The terrace is constructed of red brick with terracotta dressings to the eaves, labels and sills. It has a slate roof with a tiled ridge and two 2-stage chimneys, both with pots. The building is arranged in two parts, with nos 3 and 4 stepped down slightly from nos 1 and 2. Each half consists of a reflected pair of houses with minor differences between them.

The right-hand pair (nos 1 and 2) feature outer entrance bays with wide segmentally-arched doorways. No 2 retains its 6-panel door with narrow flanking lights and a plain overlight; no 1 is similar but has a glazed modern door. Both have paired sash windows to left and right, with 6-pane upper and plain lower sections, moulded sills and returned labels. Plain 2-pane sashes light the first floors above the entrances, with smaller 4-pane sashes to the second floor above, all with segmental heads. The centre bays contain large rectangular wooden oriels with supporting decorative brackets and dentilated cornices with leaded roofs. Each retains plain tripartite glazing comprising a central arched window and flanking transomed lights. The second floor features large arched sash windows within large gabled dormers, with decorative bargeboards and terracotta ridge finials.

The left-hand pair (nos 3 and 4) have similar upper floors but lack the central oriels; instead, there are three plain sashes with a shared label. The entrances are narrower with flat arches, 6-panel doors and plain overlights. The ground floor windows are triple sashes advanced as a shallow bay with leaded roofs.

Low brick forecourt walls with moulded capping and surmounting decorative railings front the terrace.