History
A regular grid of streets on the east side of the Aberystwyth town was laid out in the early C19, on former marshland between the line of the old town walls and the foot of Penglais Hill. The line of Queen’s Road was set out by 1809 but it remained largely undeveloped until the construction of the town hall in 1856. Further residential development continued into the late nineteenth century with more open and spacious housing marking the distinction between town centre and suburb.
Nos 1-5 Cambridge Terrace was probably constructed c1900 as a medium sized residential development on spare undeveloped ground on the edge of the town centre: the plot is marked as undeveloped on the First Edition OS Map, and marked as developed on the Second Edition (1906). The houses mark a significant shift in the style of construction in the town; using new imported materials facilitated by the coming of the railway in 1864, and new styles that were a distinct change from the traditional Georgian style of building in use throughout the C18 and C19.
In 1981 it was included in Aberystwyth Conservation Area.
Exterior
Terrace of 5 houses in Domestic Revival style. Red brick to ground floor, yellow brick with red brick dressings to upper floors. Slate roofs and moulded brick ridge stacks. Terracotta dressings to eaves and gables and upper windows. Large pane horned sash windows. 2 storeys with attic gables and dormers. Built as 2 mirrored pairs of 2 bays with a single matching building at left (No.1). Each pair with entrance bay to centre and advanced Dutch gabled bay to side with bay window to ground and first floor with tiled apron and brick plinth and flat wide canopy over with decorative iron balustrade (missing from Nos 2 & 5). 3-light window to Dutch gable with terracotta kneelers, coping and elaborate finial. Entrance bay with single first floor window with moulded terracotta hood, plain dormers with pitched slate roof and finial above, and double 6-panel door below with plain overlight and shared tiled canopy on timber bracket with balustrading. Brick wall and iron railings and gate to front included.
Rear elevations all in red brick with 3 storey extensions with gabled slate roofs, ridge stacks and horned sash windows. 2 small modern windows in side elevation to No.1. Front and rear garden walls in red brick, iron railings and gate to front.
Interior
Interior not inspected.
Reasons for Listing
Included for its special architectural interest as a good example of an attractive late C19 / early C20 residential terrace displaying strong design and good use of materials, surviving substantially intact. Historic interest, sitting as it does within a coherent complex of historic urban planning and development patterns, which is unusual nationally, and an important feature of the town’s development. The terrace illustrates a change in the form and appearance of development in the town at the end of the C19, associated with the coming of the railway which marked a period of significant growth in the town. Group value with other listed buildings on Queen’s Road.
External Links
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
Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)