Description

LANCASTER

SD4761NW CASTLE HILL
1685-1/6/32 (West side)
18/02/70 Nos.6-12 (Even)
Witchways
(Formerly Listed as:
CASTLE HILL
(North West side)
Nos.4, 6 AND 8)

GV II

Marked on OS as Nos 4, 6 & 8.
Row of 3 cottages and attached former warehouse, now office.
Cottages early C19, with C20 alterations. Warehouse mid C18,
remodelled in late C19, and altered C20. Squared sandstone
with ashlar dressings. Cottages have stone slate roof with
gable chimneys, and warehouse has composition tile roof. The
cottages have quoins above the level of the warehouse eaves
and square stone gutter brackets. Double-depth plan.
Each cottage has 3 storeys and a single bay, the one to No.12
being canted back on the left. The windows and doorways have
plain surrounds and late C20 joinery. The doorways of Nos 8 &
10 are coupled and placed between the windows. No.12 has a
door to the left with a window to its left. The door is set
into the gable wall of Nos 21-29 St Mary's Parade (qv) which
adjoins at right angles and has its ground floor at a higher
level because of the slope of the ground. In 1988 a well,
which presumably antedates the cottages, was found immediately
next to the rear wall of the cottages.
No.6, the former warehouse, is of 2-unit plan, with the gable
to the road. 3 storeys and attic, with a central 4-stage
loading slot (now glazed) whose jambs and head have ovolo
chamfers, and small internal corbels to support loading
platforms. On the second floor there are larger external
corbels, with a bracket for a crane just above on the left. To
the right is a later doorway and 2 original stair windows
vertically aligned above it; to the left on the first floor is
an inserted window. The left corner has quoins, but the
right-hand corner is tusked. The rear gable, built into higher
ground, has only 2 storeys, with a 2-stage loading slot, where
each doorway has a massive stone lintel, the lower one flanked
by stone corbels. In the apex of the gable are 3 pigeon holes
with perching ledges, protected by the projecting verge of the
top of the roof.
INTERIOR: a newel staircase (now blocked), remains of a former
doorway in the right-hand wall, and of fireplaces in the left
wall. Large pine beams, chamfered with run-out stops. On the
first floor, remains of elaborate moulded plasterwork,
presumably surviving from a former use as a plasterer's
workshop.

Listing NGR: SD4745161834

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26515153

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy