37 Mount Street

37 Mount Street, located in Welshpool, is now a single house but was previously a pair of cottages. Originally, it was part of a larger dwelling that included No 38. This property represents the hall or kitchen range of a late 16th-century hall and cross-wing type house, although its internal layout has been significantly altered over the years.

The exterior of the building was originally timber framed, but this range has been refronted in brick and then rendered. It features a steep slate roof and a large brick axial stack. The house is two storeys high with a three-window range, where the left-hand bay, formerly No 36, is slightly set back. It has a two-light casement window with a cambered brick head, and a similar window is located below the eaves. The advanced right-hand bay includes a similar window, a doorway, and a renewed casement window under a common lintel. There is a blocked opening to the left, and the upper windows are two-light casements situated just under the eaves.

Inside, the entrance leads to a lobby in front of the shared stack with No 38. A timber-framed partition separates the lobby from the principal room and features a fine moulded timber panel. An exposed plain bressumer of a blocked fireplace can be seen. The main room has been opened up to include the front room of the former No 36, which was previously a narrow double pile cottage and likely served as the service rooms at the lower end of the original hall.

Together with No 38, this house is an excellent example of a 17th-century timber-framed vernacular house, typically found in rural areas. The alterations made over time, including the subdivision and eventual amalgamation of the property, reflect the changing demands of urban living.