Victoria House (now N.F.U. Mutual Office)

History: Probably built as a single dwelling c1840, with shop front added c1900. Was the premises of David Gittins, draper, from 1914.

Exterior: Shop with dwelling adjacent and above, 3 storeys with cellars, 2 window range. Slate roof coverings, red brickwork in Flemish bond built up from a stone plinth. 2nd storey has 2 tripartite cast iron windows immediately under the eaves. Each section has 6 panes and the central light opens. Quadrant stays. 1st storey has 2 tripartite cast iron windows under flat arch lintels with tumbled brickwork. Each section has 10 panes, and the lowest 6 panes of the central section form the opening light. Ground floor has one window at N end as on 1st storey. Wooden sills, some with lead flashing. Most windows retain early C19 glass. The shop front occupies the ground floor of the southern side of the house and incorporates a separate doorway to the dwelling adjacent and above. It is spanned by an entablature with a dentilled frieze, supported on two pilasters with flower bosses. The north pilaster has a carved bracket with projecting sculpted head of classic deity with winged helmet (Mercury?), and a panelled reveal to the doorway of the northern house. The door is original with 4 panels, and an overpanel. The shop front is plain glazed with a modern glazed door.

Interior: Not accessible at time of inspection.

Listed as relatively unaltered townhouse of c1840 with a fine shop front of c1900 and for good townscape value.

Reference: W.T.R. Pryce, The Photographer in Rural Wales, 1991, pp69, 169, 190.