56 Monnow Street

Nos. 56 and 58 Monnow Street comprise a house built in the early 19th century, originally with a service wing to the right and a separate entrance to the left. The street elevation is stuccoed and painted, with a slate roof largely hidden from view. The building has a single depth, backing onto the garden block, with staircases positioned between the front and rear. The main part of the building is three storeys high with a basement, displaying five windows. Rusticated quoins are present, alongside a band dividing the first and second floors. A central six-panel fielded door serves No. 58, accompanied by a fanlight and an early 19th century Doric portico. To the left, a doorway (No. 56) features a pedimented case, fanlight, and six-panel door. A small, simple service door is set within a moulded architrave on the right side, leading to No. 58. The windows are early 19th century sashes with six-over-six panes on the upper floors, with the ground floor windows being rebated and the first floor windows flush framed. The top floor features three-over-three pane sashes. A moulded cornice and parapet top the building, with a hipped roof and side chimneys. The return elevations are also rendered and painted, with a recessed stair window to No. 58.

The garden elevation presents a wider, more elaborate facade, constructed of red brick in Flemish bond with stucco detailing and a Welsh slate roof, executed in a Palladian style. Again, it is single depth, facing back to back with the Monnow Street block. The building is two storeys high with attics over a basement, arranged in seven bays (2 + 3 + 2), with the central three bays set forward under a pediment. Rusticated quoins are featured at the ends, the centre, and the central ground floor window. Stucco is used for the window keys and the surround to the pediment window. The ground floor has tall sashes with six-over-six panes under rubbed brick heads. The central section has part-glazed double doors with segmental heads flanking a wide feature with double doors and a fanlight, these providing access via flights of steps – an alteration made when the house was divided; originally, this feature served as the garden entrance. Upper floor windows are also six-over-six pane sashes, the central ones with segmental heads, though flatter than those below. A heavy cornice is topped by a pediment incorporating a Diocletian window with a triple-keyed head. The roof is hipped with two pedimented dormers, and tall brick stacks are positioned on each wall, with a central stack as well. The return elevations are rendered and painted.

Internally, the building has been altered for conversion to newspaper offices, but some early 19th century joinery remains, including six-panel doors and an open well staircase with a closed string, turned balusters, and a mahogany handrail. This staircase may have been a replacement of an earlier staircase, retaining the original design. An Adam-style fireplace with fluted Corinthian half columns is found in the main ground floor room, with two others reported elsewhere. The upper rooms are largely featureless, but a heavy principal rafter roof is visible in part.