M.J.Rayner

M.J. Rayner is a three-storey building with classical details, located at a corner site. The main block is almost symmetrical and features a three-window arrangement on each side, with two-storey ranges flanking it. The High Street side has a three-bay and a two-bay range, while the Canon Street side has a three-bay, a two-bay, and another two-bay range. The building has slate roofs with tiled cresting.

The most striking feature is the steeply pitched roof in the French chateau style, topped with an ironwork crown and adorned with an elaborate acanthus-derived panelled band at the base. Each three-bay section is highlighted by advanced pilaster strips that rise from the ground floor entablature, which itself features full pilasters with detailed ornamentation. The main part of the building has a deep parapet that was once stone balustraded and included a clock in a pediment form.

Moulded architraves decorate the second floor, while the first floor has scrolled brackets and lion's head carvings supporting a segmental cornice, which leads to 'detached' pediments. The central first-floor window above the entrance is tripartite with scrolled details beneath the pediment and a lettered panel above; this window appears to have once had a balcony. The ground floor features semi-circular headed openings and arched recesses with fluted keystones, as well as an impost band with studded ornamentation. The lower parts of the pilasters flanking each section are fluted, and modern panelled central doors are flanked by panelled pilasters. The original doors were set further back, as evidenced by the right-hand entrance, which is now partly blocked. All windows have been replaced with modern top-hung casements.

The ground floor entablature extends across the first three-window parts of the lower side ranges, which have similar windows but without pediments. The round-arched openings below include three on the High Street side and two on the Canon Street side, the latter of which have been altered for 'Deckers'. The two bays beyond this on Canon Street feature modern shop fronts, while the equivalent section on High Street has a door and window. The rear of the building has a lower hipped section with tall round arches reminiscent of a chapel.