101 and 103 Sheriff's Highway

Incorporating No. 3 Windy Nook Road. This large, double-fronted house is constructed in coursed, dressed stone with large quoins, but unusually narrow cills and lintels to the top floor. This is characteristic of the area, as there are narrow lintels at nearby Sandmill House. It was built on the site of an existing building, present since before 1826. The northern end of the property has projecting stones and no quoins, where a proposed attached house was intended but never built. To the north elevation the construction is rubble, and at the (dressed) south the openings are blocked up, including one that had been inserted. The blue slate roof adds another element of depth to the colours of the property, but has been unfortunately patched in places, and the cement fillet to the stone ridge and water tabling has been rather overdone. At least one of the original chimneys has been replaced. The beautiful Edwardian stained glass windows, timber panelled door with fanlight, and especially the timber shopfront, though a later addition, are a key part of the character of the building. They are richly coloured and harmonise well with the weathered tones of the stonework. A tiny courtyard to the front and a small garden space to the rear nurture a few trees and bushes which, whilst they have the potential to be make a contribution to the green space in the area, could be better managed.
No. 3 Windy Nook Road, adjacent and abutting, is a small but solid building of ashlar with heavier lintels. It is unfortunately currently empty.
Both buildings are suffering from erosion to the lower courses of stonework, presumably as a result of splashback from the immediately adjacent pavements, which would need to be addressed as soon as possible in order to prevent structural problems developing.
Both buildings, and their attached walls, are part of the surviving vernacular stone backbone of Sheriff Hill, evoking the heyday of this lively 19th century village, and expressing its early development, which was significantly based around quarrying. MATERIALS Sandstone, slate, timber, stained glass ARCHITECT Unknown (for Barron Robson) DATES 1868 (101 & 103) 1870 (3) LOCAL LIST