Norton House, 52 High Street South

Summary

An early C19 building of two storeys with a carriage entrance.

Reasons for Designation

Norton House, 52 High Street South, Dunstable, built in the early C19, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic and architectural interest:

* as a well-preserved example of a Georgian building;
* for its original features including the doorcase with fanlight, original windows and carriage entrance arch.

History

Dunstable town was historically focused upon the intersection of two ancient routes, the Neolithic Icknield Way, running from east to west, and the Roman Watling Street, running from north to south. The crossroad remains a dominant feature in topography of the town. Dunstable has Roman origins, known as Durocobrivis, centred on the crossroads, which appears to have been abandoned at the end of the Roman period. The town was later re-established in the early C12 by Henry I, centred on the royal lodge of Kingsbury and the Augustinian Priory founded in 1131, dissolved in 1540. A market was established in the wide streets and marketplace, where permanent buildings began to encroach to form Middle Row, possibly from the early C13 onwards. The town continued to prosper as a market town in the post-Medieval period, and also as a significant staging post for coaches travelling along Watling Street. The C19 saw the arrival of the railway, new municipal buildings, and the development of the backland with new terraced housing and small industrial premises, notably hat-making. The C20 saw the growth of the town as an engineering centre. Residential expansion continued apace, with associated provision for schools, churches, and other public buildings.

Norton House was built in the early C19. The OS 25 Inch 1892-1914 map indicates that the building had extensions to the rear and a possible watershed including other ancillary buildings. It was listed in 1976 and was described as follows: "Early C19. Red brick. Welsh slate roof with eaves cornice. 2 storeys. 3 sash windows with flat arches. Right hand ground floor carriageway with elliptical arch. Left hand ground floor window in semi-circular headed panel. Door has good fanlight, Roman Doric pilasters and entablature."

In the late C20 and early C21 it was in use as offices, but in 2018 planning permission was granted to convert it from offices into three flats.

Details

An early C19 building of two storeys with a carriage entrance.

MATERIALS: red brick and Welsh slate.

EXTERIOR: the building has two storeys, beneath a Welsh slate roof with an eaves cornice. The ground floor contains a front entrance doorcase with a fanlight, Roman Doric pilasters and entablature. To the right is an arched carriage entrance, and to the left of the door is one sash window in a semi-circular headed panel. The first floor has three sash windows with flat arches and a fourth recessed, above a storey band.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

35761

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Websites
Dunstable Conservation Area Appraisal 2010, accessed 21 November 2022 from https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/migrated_images/dunstable-conservation-2010_tcm3-12953.pdf
Dunstable Parish History, accessed 21 November 2022 from http://www.dunstableparish.org.uk/heritage/history/
British History Online, accessed 21 November 2022 from https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/beds/vol3/pp349-368

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