house

Terraced three-bay three-storey over basement house, c.1800, with three-bay three-storey return to east. Reroofed, c.1950. Renovated, pre-1993, with replacement shopfront inserted to ground floor. Pitched roof incorporating hipped roof to return with replacement fibre-cement slate, c.1950, terracotta ridge tiles, red brick Running bond chimney stack on axis with ridge having capping, and iron rainwater goods on rendered eaves having iron ties retaining cast-iron ogee hopper and downpipe. Rendered, ruled and lined walls with rendered quoined panelled piers to ends. Square-headed window openings with cut-stone sills, rendered surrounds having moulded reveals, and two-over-two timber sash windows having replacement timber casement windows, pre-1993, to top floor. Replacement polished pink granite shopfront, pre-1993, to ground floor with fixed-pane windows, and glazed door having overlight. Interior renovated, pre-1993, retaining timber staircase having carved timber balustrade supporting carved timber handrail. Street fronted with concrete footpath to front.

A house of modest size expressing understated design aspirations with the architectural value of the composition established by traits including the harmonious symmetrical arrangement of the openings diminishing slightly in scale on each floor producing a tiered visual effect, the subtle rendered accents suggesting a muted Classical theme, and so on. Having been reasonably well maintained, the house continues to project an early aspect with the elementary form and massing surviving in place together with a quantity of the historic fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior, thereby upholding the positive contribution made to the character of Main Street South: however, a replacement shopfront of little inherent design distinction does not make a beneficial visual impact in the street scene at street level. The house remains of additional interest as the cited birthplace of Sir Arthur Leared (1822-79), inventor of the binaural or "double" stethoscope (1851).