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Mcilquhan's Warehouse or China Shop;Bacchus Wine Bar;Rummer's

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NPRN23288
Map ReferenceSN58SE
Grid ReferenceSN5824881361
Unitary (Local) AuthorityCeredigion
Old CountyCardiganshire
CommunityAberystwyth
Type Of SitePUBLIC HOUSE
PeriodPost Medieval
Description
A large warehouse built in about 1860 as a corn store, depicted in some detail on the 1st edition OS 1:500 Town plan of 1887. It occupied a waterfront location at the foot of the riverbank now rather obscured by a modern terrace. It may incorporate something of an earlier warehouse shown on a sketch of 1797.
Aberystwyth's earliest theatre occupied an upper room from about 1818 and a youthful Mrs Siddons is rumoured to have trodden its boards. It is now a licensed premises with accommodation above.
This is a three storey warehouse built to a compressed U plan. The walls are of whitened stone rubble under slate roofs. Facing south the building appears to have originally presented a symmetrical three bay facade under a hipped roof with a wide segmental arched central entry, originally giving on to the river. A timber lintled entry, now blocked, has replaced a ground floor window and the remainder have relatively small, near square openings, those of the upper storey being set directly under the eaves.
The west elevation appears to be little changed from the original, but the east elevation features two tall partly blocked windows rising through the upper storeys to gabled dormers. These may represent former loading doors. The two storey rear north elevation at the top of the old river bank is made up of the two return gables capped by chimney stacks with a third stack in the valley between. There were formerly outside stairs to upper storey doorways in both gables.
The interior has stone walled compartments behind the central bay of the southern facade. The lower two storeys of this were fitted out as a corn drying kiln in the mid nineteenth century. There is are narrower compartments beyond.

Sources: NMR Site File & other holdings
CADW Listed Buildings Database (10200)

John Wiles 28.09.07