4 Dock Chambers (Emlyn House)

This is a three-storey building, dating from the 18th century, exhibiting a mixed architectural style incorporating Free Classical and French Renaissance influences, alongside Dutch gables. The exterior is primarily red brick with a Bath stone ground floor facing, featuring channelled pilaster strips and gable parapets. The ground floor is finished with thin cement stacks and cornices to both the front and rear. The facade is gently stepped, composed of repeating sections of five bays, each side of an advanced central bay topped by a steeply pitched French-style roof with elaborate dormers. Each section is defined by channelled pilaster strips, and distinctive shaped gables mark the centre of each group of five bays. A pierced parapet to the left retains urn finials, while pendants (now missing) and circular attic windows are also present. The majority of windows are 4-pane sash designs, with tripartite windows in the central block incorporating a pedimented cornice to the first floor and flanking blind ovals decorated with draped festoons. The second floor features bracketed sills set within a stone band course, a stringcourse, vermiculated voussoirs to the first floor, and a deep frieze band to the ground floor. Enriched ornamentation sits above the cornices of the central window and entrance in each section of five bays. These features include round-arched doorways with keystones, pilasters, and panelled double doors. Original ground floor windows are segmental, with the exception of those in the central block, which are semicircular. Later alterations to the right-hand end added a wider bank frontage, extended one bay beyond the corner, and incorporated a single-storey section with a pedimented Tuscan Doric entrance, channelled pilasters, a modillion cornice, and a high granite plinth. The left-hand side has seen more significant alterations, including the addition of a garage door and the removal of scrolled ornament from the windows. However, the remaining inner five-bay section on this side has been treated in a Grecian Classical style with surrounds to a large shop window, a vehicular entrance, and a central entrance featuring an anthemion finial, egg and dart and fretwork ornament. This section showcases panelled doors with a latticed overlight. The rear elevation presents a similar but simpler design with four and five-window sections flanking a central projection. At the right-hand end, twin gables enclose a central chimney; a flat-roofed, open-plan extension is present behind, featuring internally iron Doric columns.

Inside, Dock Chambers features openwell staircases with ironwork balustrades, bulbous newels, and scrolled handrails. Panelled doors and reveals are characteristic, along with round-arched and segmental architraves. A ground floor front room within No 4 boasts a plaster frieze, fluted columns on the chimney-piece, and panelled shutters.