house

Corner-sited end-of-terrace two-bay two-storey former house over raised basement, built c. 1855, as one of pair. Return to rear (south) elevation. Now in use as yoga studio. M-profile pitched slate roof, partly concealed behind parapet with cut granite coping and moulded white brick eaves course to front (north) and side (west) elevations. Brown brick chimneystacks having granite bands and terracotta pots. Brown brick, laid in Flemish bond, to walls, cut granite quoins and plinth course over smooth rendered basement wall. Square-headed window openings with granite sills, raised render reveals and mixed one-over-one pane and two-over-two pane timber sliding sash windows, one recent window. Timber panelled shutters visible to interior. Elliptical-headed door opening to front, having moulded render surround. Doorcase comprising fluted Ionic columns supporting moulded cornice, plain fanlight. Timber panelled door. Nosed granite steps, cast-iron boot-scrape to platform, flanked by cast-iron railings on granite plinth walls. Square-headed doorway to basement, recent door. Granite platform to front of steps having cast-iron coal-hole cover, cast-iron gate and matching railings on cut granite plinth wall fronting house.

A handsome house retaining elegant classically-influenced features, such as the well-composed doorcase. The raised basement and wide steps leading to the front door add grandeur to the building and to the streetscape. The decorative cast-iron railings are of artistic as well as technical interest. This house was built as one of a pair with its neighbour to the east, as indicated by the granite quoins. Grantham Street was developed from the mid nineteenth century. As the street developed, the pair became part of a terrace of similarly scaled and detailed houses. With the expansion of the city, the development of suburban residential areas such as Grantham Street provided housing for the growing middle class.