Dysart Buildings is a terrace of nine Georgian

Georgian architecture

Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...

 houses on Monks Lane in Nantwich

Nantwich

Nantwich is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The town gives its name to the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich...

, Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

, England. Dating from 1778–79, the building is listed at grade II*. It is located at 1–9 Monks Lane , now a pedestrian walkway, opposite the former Congregational Chapel

Congregational Chapel, Nantwich

The Congregational Chapel, also known as the Independent Chapel, is a former Congregational or Independent church in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. It is located on Monks Lane , now a pedestrian walkway, opposite the Dysart Buildings and immediately north east of St Mary's Church. Built in 1841–42,...

 and immediately north east of St Mary's Church

St Mary's Church, Nantwich

St Mary's Church, Nantwich, is in the centre of the market town of Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It has been called the "Cathedral of South Cheshire" and it is considered by some to be one of the finest medieval...

. Nikolaus Pevsner

Nikolaus Pevsner

Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...

 describes the building as "surprisingly metropolitan".

History

The terrace was constructed in 1778–79 as a speculative project by Lionel Tollemache

Lionel Tollemache, 5th Earl of Dysart

Lionel Tollemache, 5th Earl of Dysart was a Scottish nobleman, styled Lord Huntingtower from 1727 to 1770....

, the fifth Earl of Dysart

Earl of Dysart

Earl of Dysart is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1643 for William Murray, who had earlier represented Fowey and East Looe in the English House of Commons. He was made Lord Huntingtower at the same time, also in the Peerage of Scotland. He was succeeded by his daughter, the...

, who inherited the land from an ancestor who married into the Wilbraham family in 1680. The Earl of Dysart was also patron of St Mary's Church

St Mary's Church, Acton

St Mary's Church, Acton is an active Anglican church in Acton, a village to the west of Nantwich, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. A church has been present on this site since before the time of the Domesday Survey. The tower is the...

 in the adjacent parish of Acton

Acton, Cheshire

Acton is a small village and civil parish lying immediately west of the town of Nantwich in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of...

.

Description

Dysart Buildings is a terrace of nine three-storey town houses in red brick under a slate roof. The front (south) face is symmetrical, and Pevsner

Nikolaus Pevsner

Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...

 describes the terrace as "perfectly even". Each of the individual houses has three bays. The entrance doors all feature wooden doorcases with flanking pilaster

Pilaster

A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....

s and fanlight

Fanlight

A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...

s topped with a pediment

Pediment

A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...

; the windows all have plain tops and stone sills.

At the ends of the terrace are projecting bays. The west end has an additional later extension. Each end of the terrace bears an oval plaque with the name of the building.