Description

TORQUAY

SX9163 PALK STREET
885-1/17/202 (West side)
Cary Estate Office

GV II

Office of the Cary Estate. Probably 1859 when the building
became the Devon and Cornwall Bank (Ellis, p.276). Became the
Cary Estate Office in 1908. Rock-faced breccia, brought to
course; polished pink granite, terracotta and Ham Hill
dressings; slate roof, rounded at the north end with a fleche,
gabled to south; stacks with brick shafts with cornices.
Basically Italianate style with some Rococco detail.
PLAN: On a prominent corner site facing north up Fleet Street
with a rounded corner.
EXTERIOR: Tall and narrow. 3 storeys and attic 5-bay rounded
north end, 4 bays to each side. Bays divided by pilasters,
rusticated to ground and first floors, panelled to second
floor. Projecting cornice at first-floor level, platbands to
second floor and below dentil eaves cornice. Large
ground-floor windows with moulded architraves and rounded
upper corners, C20 glazing with glazing bars. Other windows
glazed with 2-pane sashes. First-floor windows with
swan-necked pediments and moulded architraves; second-floor
windows flanked by pilasters. Centre front bay has segmental
pediment over first-floor window and pedimented dormer above
eaves cornice. Flat-roofed single-storey bay to left of curved
end has pilasters flanking on 2-tier plate glass window. Large
round-headed doorway on east end in wider end bay with moulded
architrave and keystone, paired windows above. Rear end wall
stuccoed with first-floor access onto 3-bay single-storey
flat-roofed block at south end. This has a pretty 1830s
anthemia cast-iron balustrade.
INTERIOR: Not inspected but may retain features of interest.
The Cary family, along with the Palk family, were responsible
for the development of Torquay in the C19.
(Ellis CA: An Historical Survey of Torquay, 2nd edition:
1930-: P.276).

Listing NGR: SX9181363557

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26512757

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

• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)