Description

FALMOUTH

843-1/12/41 CASTLE BEACH
24-APR-96 CASTLE BEACH
FALMOUTH HOTEL
PENDENNIS ROAD
CASTLE BEACH
(East side)
Mariners

II

Also Known As: FALMOUTH HOTEL, CLIFF ROAD, CASTLE BEACH
FALMOUTH HOTEL, MELVILL ROAD, CASTLE BEACH
Large hotel constructed in 1865, extended in 1890 by Silvanus Trevail and further altered in the mid C20.
Stucco on masonry with plinth, moulded strings and other stucco details; bracketed eaves cornice to original part with dry Delabole slate roofs with gabled dormers; very steep baronial style hipped roof to entrance wing with cast-iron balustrade or cresting surrounding central flat roof; extension one floor higher and with parapet cornice similar to the main cornice; large stacks with moulded and bracketed cornices: axial stacks to original part, stacks over parapet of extension.
PLAN: large plan, the original T-plan with head of the T as a shallow entrance wing, extended 1890 with 5-storey rear wing to form an H plan overall plus a 2-storey wing to centre of right-hand (landward) side also some later extensions. Classical style, the entrance wing with some French Renaissance influence. Original building (now entrance wing) is 4 storeys plus attic; symmetrical 1:2:1-bay entrance front. Paired end pilasters to ground and upper floors and flanking central bays; channelled rustication to lower 3 floors; moulded entablature with bracketed cornice above ground floor; moulded entablature with modillion architrave above 1st floor and moulded and carved sill string above 2nd floor; similar details to remainder of entrance wing. Central L-plan porch with square columns, paired to left-hand corner; moulded entablature; later infill glazing with spoked fanlight heads. Above the porch is a balustraded and arcaded lean-to open balcony with slender columns. Original windows: transomed casements to lower floors, sashes to upper floors, the windows of the top floor with round-arched heads. Left-hand return (seaward front) is 3:6:1 bays; extended C20 to ground floor of central bays, otherwise original: open balconies to 1st floor of 1865 part; tripartite openings to return of: pediment above 2nd-floor window, moulded hood above 3rd-floor window. Taller 1898 wing on the right is 5 storeys and 3 bays. There are iron grilles to the 1st and 2nd floors and channelled rustication to the lower 3 floors, the bays of the ground and 1st floors divided by pilasters, including paired end pilasters, all surmounted by strings with full entablature with brackets and modillions; moulded strings to upper floors. Landward elevation has no balconies but is otherwise similar to seaward elevation. Also there is a 2-storey hip-roofed extension at right angles to the centre with a modillion eaves cornice. This was added in 1890 by Trevail and originally possessed a flat roof. This is joined to the main block by a 2-storey linking wing. The main wing has 5-window-range outer elevations: channelled rustication to the ground floor; mid-floor string and round-arched heads to the 1st-floor windows. C20 flat-roofed extension to the ground floor of linking wing; further C20 additions to the right of this elevation. Rear is 2:1:2 bays with central tripartite openings to 1st and 2nd floors, otherwise similar to returns of this wing. C20 additions to ground floor.
INTERIOR: where inspected the interior is very fine quality and retains most of its original architectural features. The entrance hall is panelled and has a moulded plaster ceiling cornice. The room on the left has a deeply-coved cornice. There is a round-arched doorway into the central stair hall which has an open-well staircase with a scrolled mahogany handrail to a cast-iron balustrade on an open string; moulded ceiling cornice. The stair hall is linked to a main hall/reception room by a round-arched arcade. This room has a modillion ceiling cornice and other features of interest. This hotel is an exceptionally fine example of its building type in Cornwall, the palatial style recalling the contemporary "station hotels" at the great termini and the hotels of other resorts such as Scarborough. In a very bold way it marks the beginning of tourism in Falmouth and the exploitation of the town's excellent seaside location for leisure activities.

Sources:- Gilson P: Falmouth in Old Photographs: Falmouth: 1990-: 73 and 74.

Listing NGR: SW 8166732088

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26560165

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

• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability