History

Commercial premises, late C17 or early C18 with exterior altered in C19. There was a plumbers business of William Baldwin here in the 1830s, continued by his wife Sarah at 53-4 King Street. No 53 was premises of Isaac Davies (d 1855), noted cabinet-maker who made the mayor's seat in the parish church 1851. His daughter Catherine had a milliners business in No 53a until 1842 when she married the commercial traveller poet Titus Lewis (c1820-87). In 1884 premises of John Davies, boot and shoe maker, George Morgan, book-binder and registrar, and Harry Brunel White, solicitor. In 1914 and 1926 Dicks boot and shoe makers at No 53 and Bland tobacconist at No 53a.

Exterior

Commercial premises with 2 shops, similar to No 52. Painted stucco with plain eaves cornice to flat or low-pitched slate roof, red brick chimney to left against side of No 54, truncated stack to right. Three storeys, 4-bays, second floor, 4-pane hornless sash windows (left window has plate glass sash), short cross-windows to first floor. Shop fronts in early C20 casing, late C20 shop-window to right, early C20 shop front on left with plate glass window to left of recessed shop door and house door, window with thin column shafts and small spandrel brackets, doors with overlights, house door of six panels. Common casing of pilasters, large brackets framing deep fascia with awning box over. Brackets have half-round caps. Rear has broad gable with 4-pane stair lights.

Interior

Shop interiors both altered. Fine earlier to mid C18 staircase to rear from cellar to attic with large turned balusters, square panelled newels and closed pulvinated string. Some dado panelling from ground floor to cellar. Stair rises in 6 flights. Said to have massive roof trusses (1981 list), half truss visible at top of rear stair gable and one purlin. One 4-panel fielded-panelled door at first floor.

Reasons for Listing

Included as a C18 town house refronted in late C19 but retaining fine staircase. Group value.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29488245

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

• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)