NHER 15865 (Building record) - Caius House, Middleton Street

December 1950. Listed, Grade II.
Revised Listing Description excerpt:
"House, now one retail shop and a department store. Early 18th century, much altered mid 20th century, especially to interior. Brick with roofs of black glazed pantiles. Two storeys and attic storey in seven bays divided into 2-3-2 rhythm, each articulated by brick giant pilasters with rendered block architraves rising to metope frieze. Above frieze is parapet elaborated into attic storey. Pediment with occulus over centre three bays. Central doorcase formed of a pair of Tuscan columns with a metope frieze supporting a dentilled pediment. Glazed 20th-century door. Second door to left and a plate glass shop display window immediately right. Both side groups of two bays filled with late 20th-century glazed shop fronts, forming the actual entrances. First floor lit through seven sash windows with glazing bars, gauged skewback arches and keystones. Four attic sashes. Hipped roof. Ridge stack left of centre. Cross wing runs south-west from south end in two builds: two storeys and dormer attic. Scattered fenestration of sash windows. Rear also with sashes and three hipped dormers in roof. Stacks on cross wing ridge.
Interior - Open string staircase with three twisted balusters on turned bases to each tread. Scrolled tread-ends. Moulded handrail and fluted newel columns. Panelled dado. Stairwell with cornice decorated with egg-and-dart and key interlace, said to be repeated under suspended ceiling of west ground-floor room. Interior largely opened into showroom."
Information from (S1).
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S1) for the current listing details.
P. Watkins (HES), 21 July 2021.

5 March 1980. Field Observation.
No. 1 on (S2), Nos 3 - 7 on Listing.
Early Georgian, a very fine building.
Red brick, seven bays, two storeys and an attic storey in a parapet that engulphs a three bay pediment with central circular window. Giant flat pilasters below pediment and at corners. Central Tuscan doorway with pediment. However the ground floor has been mutilated; the two bays at each end replaced by shop fronts, the window south of the doorway being converted into another door and - incredibly, since 1962, see Pevsner's photograph (S3) - the remaining window widened for display. A staircase with turned balusters mentioned by Pevsner.
Information from HER Record Card (S5) [1].

A rain head on the south-east angle bears the date 1786.
OS Records (S4).
R. J. Rickett (NLA), 13 July 1990.