52 & 53 Cumbergate, formerly Miss Pears' Almshouses

Summary

Former almshouses built in 1835 with additions of 1903 designed by James G Stallebrass, converted as part of a shopping centre in the 1980s.

Reasons for Designation

52 & 53 Cumbergate, former almshouses built in 1835 with additions of 1903 designed by James G Stallebrass, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* its stone mullion windows and tall decorative chimney stacks, features typically associated with the Tudor idiom, convey the visual qualities of homeliness and comfort that are integral to the character of this building type;

* its 1903 additions carefully adopted the Tudoresque style of the original 1835 building, forming a picturesque composition of considerable aesthetic appeal.

Historic interest:

* it aptly illustrates the architectural embellishment with which almshouses are traditionally treated, partly to reflect well on their benefactor;

* it is a visual manifestation of the historic provision of welfare in Peterborough.

Group value:

* it is located in the historic centre of the city, immediately surrounded on three sides by six listed buildings, including houses and inns ranging in date from the C17 to the C19, and the Grade I listed C15 Church of St John the Baptist. The former almshouses have a strong visual relationship with these buildings and form part of an historic group that is illustrative of the evolution of the city through five centuries.

History

The first almshouses on the site of 52 & 53 Cumbergate dated to at least the C18, and were extended by the Feofees in 1835 with the addition of an eastern range. A stone plaque on the west façade bears this date, along with an inscription which is not completely legible. The first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1888 shows the almshouses on the east side of Cumbergate, occupying a triangular plot with long, narrow ranges forming the east and west sides. The eastern range of 1835 is divided into eight units, whilst the older western range is divided into seven units with an opening into a very small courtyard. A photograph taken in 1903 shows this older, stone-built range of one and a half storeys before it was demolished to make space for small gardens. In the same year extensions were built on the south-west and north-west corners, and two double-height gabled bays were added to the eastern range. The third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1926 shows the new U-shaped layout consisting of the long eastern range of 1835 with the projecting blocks at either end, and front railings framing a courtyard. The new extensions were funded by a bequest of £5,000 from Miss Pears, the daughter of a city draper, who had died in 1901. It was designed by local architect James G Stallebrass who used the Tudor style to harmonise with the 1835 range. He is not associated with any other buildings on the National Heritage List for England. The builder was J Lucas.

An article in ‘The Peterborough and Huntingdonshire Standard’ (21 November 1903, p. 6) described the new additions as follows: ‘A two-storey building, it is constructed of Ketton stone with Stamford stone dressings [and] Bangor slates’. Each new block ‘contains four rooms, two on the ground floor, on either side of the porch, and two on the second storey. The entrance hall is commodious. […] The floors are of wood blocks and the walls of adamant cement. Each room is provided with an oven and grate, and stone mantelpiece, each room has an additional space of 6ft. by 7ft. for a bed, and is also equipped with a handy little pantry. The staircase is of stone.’

The 1903 block at the northern end was demolished to make way for Queensgate Shopping Centre which opened in 1982. Since then, two apertures have been replaced with wide doorways on the front of the east range, and two single-storey glazed extensions have been erected against the frontage. The interior has undergone considerable remodelling, and the front railings have been removed. The former almshouses are currently in use as a restaurant (2024).

Details

Former almshouses built in 1835 with additions of 1903 designed by James G Stallebrass, converted as part of a shopping centre in the 1980s.

MATERIALS: the long eastern range is of Gault brick with stone dressings, and the south block is of Ketton stone, laid to courses, with Stamford stone dressings. Welsh slate roof covering.

PLAN: the almshouses occupy a corner plot between Cumbergate and Exchange Street. The building faces west onto Cumbergate and has an L-shaped plan consisting of a long narrow east range of 1835, set back from the street, and a projecting south block of 1903.

The two early C21 single-storey glazed additions projecting from the west side of the east range are excluded from the listing.

EXTERIOR: the almshouses are in the Tudor style. The long eastern range of 1835, which is set back from Cumbergate, has two storeys under a pitched roof with two tall, wide chimney stacks spanning the ridge, each with four chimney pots. The two double-height gabled bays under hipped roofs were added in 1903. The central section has two double-leaf, Tudor arch doors within moulded stone surrounds, replacing earlier apertures. To either side, the remaining ground-floor elevation is obscured by the flat-roof glazed extensions (excluded from the listing). The first floor is lit by a series of one- or two-light mullion windows with leaded lights in metal frames. The windows are set in stone surrounds with Tudor hoodmoulds.

At the northern end, the two-storey stone block under a pitched roof has a more decorative four-bay frontage facing south onto Exchange Street. The two bays on the right-hand side, which belong to the 1835 phase, are of roughly dressed stone, laid to narrow courses, with a plinth and quoins. At either end of the roof are pairs of octagonal, diagonally-set chimney stacks, set on stone bases, with decorative mouldings. The central, slightly recessed entrance has a shallow pointed arch door with six vertical, chamfered panels, the upper three replaced with opaque glazing. The door is set within a moulded stone surround under a Tudor hoodmould which is raised to frame a stone tablet with carved crossed keys. This is flanked by two-light oriel windows supported by modillions, with cavetto-moulded mullions and stone roofs. The two-light mullion windows on the first floor are under kneelered gables, flush with the wall, and surmounted by stone finials. The two bays to the left-hand side, which belong to the 1903 phase, are very similar except that the windows are three-light mullions and there is no door.

The west gable end of this block has, on the left, a door in the same style as that belonging to the 1835 phase. To the right is a recessed single-light, leaded window in a stone surround with a stone panel beneath. This lights the hall, and above the door are two similar windows which light the landing. On the right are two-light mullion windows on each floor. In the centre of the gable end is an elaborate stone plaque with scrolled sides, bearing the date 1903 and the name of the benefactor, Miss Frances Pears, and the crossed key motif. The left return is lit by irregularly placed single-light leaded windows and a cross window at first-floor level.

INTERIOR: only the southern half of the building was available for inspection. This has been much altered to the extent that very little of the original floor plan, historic joinery and fixtures have been retained. The ground floor has been opened up, and the first floor has been partitioned into many smaller rooms. The only surviving historic features are the window ironmongery, and, in the 1903 part of the south block, the stone stair with plain iron balusters, one per tread.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

49614

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Websites
Peterborough Civic Society, 15 Cumbergate, accessed 19 April 2024 from https://www.peterboroughcivicsociety.org.uk/plaques_blue2.php#Cumbergate
Peterborough Images Archive, Miss Pears' Almshouses on Cumbergate, accessed 19 April 2024 from https://www.peterboroughimages.co.uk/miss-pears-almshouses-on-cumbergate/

End of official list entry

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