Description

ILMINSTER

ST3414 WEST STREET
1939-1/6/139 (North side)
23/09/50 Nos.8 AND 10
and attached outbuildings, walls and
railings
(Formerly Listed as:
WEST STREET
(North side)
Nos.8 AND 10
Electricity House)

GV II

Two houses, now one house and 2 shops. Mid C18, refronted
c1840, extended late C19. Left-hand house made into a shop
c1935. Ham Hill stone ashlar, rubblestone to rear; slate roof
with stone stack to the centre, a rendered one to the right
and a truncated one to the left. Double-depth plan with C19
extensions to the rear.
EXTERIOR: 2 storeys, each house is symmetrical 3-window range.
That to the right, No.8, is central-staircase plan. The whole
facade has a moulded cornice below a parapet wall; pilasters
with Tuscan-style moulded cornices to centre and sides;
floating cornices, moulded window architraves, and recessed
panels to aprons below all first-floor windows. All windows to
No.8 have 6/6-pane sashes with margin lights and the ground
floor has a platband above banded rustication. Steps, curved
to the sides, lead up to the C20 six-panel door which is set
in a moulded architrave below a pediment. The shops to the
left have a reeded moulding to a fascia over a shared central
C20 door flanked by plate-glass windows.
INTERIOR: right-hand house shows elements of the mid C18, with
torus moulding to some skirtings, some wide floorboards, and
egg-and-dart moulding to the cornice of the left front room.
Otherwise the character is of c1840 with elliptical arches and
a Regency-style reeded fireplace to the first floor. There is
a vaulted cellar with stone steps, and a flagstone floor. The
water from the front parapet was ducted below the floor of the
upper right room to a pipe in the centre of the right gable
end. The house to the left, No.10, has a central hall with
c1840 staircase between the rooms to the left, which has a
wreathed handrail and curtail step; some dentilled cornices
and an elliptical arch to ground-floor left, otherwise
altered.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: No.8, to the right, has a Ham Hill stone
plinth enclosing a forecourt; this curves in, but not up,
toward the door, and supports spearhead railings with urn
finials. To the rear are tall limestone rubble walls and
outbuildings with brick dressings. No.10, to the left, has 4
steps, curved to the sides, with widely-spaced railings; no
forecourt.

Listing NGR: ST3586514731

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26503988

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)