48 Cross Street

The building at 48 Cross Street, along with numbers 47 and 49 Cross Street and number 1 Monk Street, forms a block dating to the 18th century. It has a double-depth plan, arranged in an L-shape and extending over three tall storeys, with a lower second storey. The Cross Street facade has seven windows, while Monk Street has three. Numbers 47 and 48 are two windows wide, number 49 is three windows with a blind bay to Monk Street, and number 1 is three windows.

The facades are rendered and painted. Numbers 47 and 49 have smooth stucco, while number 48 is roughcast. The roofs are covered with natural slate, with red brick stacks. A Doric giant order is positioned on a band at first floor level, although it is partially concealed by the shopfronts. The Cross Street elevation features clasping corner pilasters and another set between numbers 48 and 49, resulting in four windows to the right and three to the left. A narrow band separates the floors of number 47 and also divides it from number 48. The Monk Street elevation displays the full first floor band and shows the pilasters descending to the plinth, with a central pilaster flanked by two bays on either side, the final pilaster being a quoin rather than a clasping corner.

The ground floor of number 47 has a shopfront likely dating to around 1920, featuring a display window with slim mullions and curved glass, and a house door to the left with six panels and panelled reveals. A 1909 photograph shows a previously different frontage with the house door situated to the right. Number 48 has a late 20th-century shopfront with a single-pane display window and door on the left. The windows above match those of number 47. Number 49 has a late 19th-century public house frontage with arched heads, a layout of door-two-lights-door-single light, which continues around the corner into Monk Street with an additional two-light window. The first floor windows are similar throughout, but the center first-floor window of number 49 is a narrow 4 over 6 pane sash. A 1909 photograph reveals that this window originally had a pedimented architrave, possibly supporting a balcony intended for election addresses before the Reform Act, directly opposite a prominent hotel. The architrave was removed by 1934. The Monk Street elevation has single-light windows with transoms on the ground floor and a giant doorway to number 1, with a panelled door, transom light, panelled architrave, and a flat head supported on carved brackets. The first floor windows have six over six pane sashes, while the second floor has three over six. Deep eaves are supported by brackets on both elevations. The roof is hipped at each end facing Cross Street, but gabled on Monk Street. There are six massive brick stacks: two on each ridge and one at each end of the block. The rear elevation has dormers and roof-lights, indicating the presence of usable rooms in the attic.

A reported surviving timber frame, approximately 2 meters behind the present facade, suggests an origin in the 16th or 17th century. The interior was not inspected during a recent survey.