Description

TORQUAY

SX9263 MEADFOOT SEA ROAD 885-1/18/169 Nos. 1-15 (consecutive) Hesketh 20/11/52 Crescent and attached railings

GV II*

Includes: Nos.1-15 attached railings HESKETH CRESCENT. Crescent of 15 houses, now divided into holiday flats and hotel. 1846-48 by the younger Harveys for Sir Laurence Palk. Plastered; roof concealed behind parapet; stacks with rendered shafts with platbands. PLAN: Concave terrace, each house double-depth on plan, one-room wide with an off-centre door, centre five bays conceived as one unit with a central doorway. EXTERIOR: 3 storeys, basement and attic, the attic storey raised at a later stage, eliminating the original central pediment. 47-bay range. Centre 5 bays broken forward; ground floor rusticated, first and second floors with fluted Composite pilasters supporting an enriched entablature below a deep projecting cornice with dentil and modillion friezes. Attic storey windows also divided by pilasters, crowned with urns. Windows reglazed with plate-glass timber sashes, the ground floor with segmental heads, keyblocks and moulded architraves; the first floor with alternating segmental and triangular pediments on consoles. The other houses mostly have round-headed ground-floor windows with chanelled rusticated pilasters between; round-headed doorways; first-floor piano nobile has cast-iron balconies with anthemion pattern and tent roof with fretted fascias; cable moulding at second-floor level and enriched friezes below the cornice, matching the centre house. End houses break forward with giant pilasters and first-floor windows treated to match the centre house. The returns pedimented. Fine set of area railings with spearhead finials complement the more decorative iron balconies. INTERIOR: Not inspected, but likely to retain features of interest. HISTORY: The centre house is said to have been the residence of Sir Laurence Palk. Ellis mentions (without a reference) that Hesketh Crescent was described as "the finest crescent in the West of England". Spectacularly-sited, overlooking the sea. This is the grandest work in Torquay undertaken by the Harvey sons, whose father built Higher Terrace (qv) in 1811. (Ellis CA: An Historical Survey of Torquay, 2nd edition: 1930-: P.285).

Listing NGR: SX9301063138

External Links

• Wikidata Q17549925

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  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
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  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990