Description

Early to mid 19th century. 3-storey, block with shop to ground at No 7 and 2-bay Masonic lodge to upper floors; rear to Canal Crescent (E). Painted render to King Street elevation (W), harled to E. Base course, eaves cornice.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: PRINCIPAL ELEVATION TO KING STREET: no 5 far left. Single-bay with pilastered, console bracketted, corniced doorpiece with small corner pediments. 8-panel 2-leaf timber door with fanlights above. Round-arched niche to right. Pilastered bay above with 2-light, coloured glass windows to each floor with timber mullions.

No 7 with symmetrical shop front with central recessed part-glazed door with fanlight above. Broad pilasters to outer bays with projecting console brackets; fascia with projecting dentilled cornice. Timber mullions to windows and divided transom lights. Upper storey with pilasters separating bays. Large, central, timber mullioned and transomed window.

CANAL CRESCENT ELEVATION: central pointed-arched timber boarded opening to upper floor. Timber pilastered shop front to left with stallrisers and corniced fascia.

Variety of glazing patterns. Plate glass to ground. 18-pane, fixed glazing to upper floor window. Grey slates. Gablehead stacks.

INTERIOR: (No 7 seen only). Comprehensively modernised.

Statement of Interest

This building is particularly notable for its good quality, decorative shop fronts. The heavy consoles to both the entrance door at No 5 and the shop at No 7 are particularly distinctive. The pilastered upper storey adds interest to the street and the building as a whole is an important part of the streetscape.

The building is shown on 1st Edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1860 as Canal Crescent Independent Chapel, with seats for 400. Gifford notes that the Canal Crescent elevation housed an independent chapel since 1810 and the 1809 Robert Reid map depicts a building to Canal Crescent only. It seems likely, therefore, that the Canal Crescent elevation of the building is older that the King Street elevation. No 5 King Street was converted to a Masonic Lodge in 1973. Previously it belonged to the Rechabite Society, who were a temperance society.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata IDs Q77781373 Q77781378

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

• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)