History in Structure

Custom House

A Grade II* Listed Building in Poole Town, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.7123 / 50°42'44"N

Longitude: -1.989 / 1°59'20"W

OS Eastings: 400872

OS Northings: 90296

OS Grid: SZ008902

Mapcode National: GBR XQ2.9M

Mapcode Global: FRA 67Q6.8Y0

Plus Code: 9C2WP266+W9

Entry Name: Custom House

Listing Date: 14 June 1954

Last Amended: 13 April 2023

Grade: II*

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1275358

English Heritage Legacy ID: 412625

ID on this website: 101275358

Location: Old Town, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Dorset, BH15

County: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Parish: Non Civil Parish

Built-Up Area: Poole

Traditional County: Dorset

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Dorset

Church of England Parish: Poole St James with St Paul

Church of England Diocese: Salisbury

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Summary


Custom House, built in 1781 and rebuilt in replica in 1814; now a commercial premises.

Description


Custom house, built in 1781 and rebuilt in replica in 1814; now a commercial premises.

MATERIALS: Flemish bond brickwork with dressings of stone and rubbed brick, under a hipped slate roof with brick ridge and rear, lateral stacks.

PLAN: double-depth plan with a principal rear first-floor room.

EXTERIOR: the Custom House has two upper storeys and a semi-basement. Its front, to the west, is three bays wide, with four-bay side returns to the north and south. The principal façade has a basement impost band, moulded timber eaves, and the central pedimented bay set forward. The central porch has Tuscan columns and an entablature which carries a cast-iron Royal Coat of Arms, restored in around 1990. The double entrance doors are panelled. The porch is approached by symmetrical segmental curved stairs with wrought-iron railings, which copy those of Poole’s mid-C18 Guildhall (Grade II*-listed). Six-over-six-pane sash windows flank the entrance porch, while the central top-floor window is blank, with three-over-three-pane sash windows to either side. Below the entrance, the semi-basement floor has a keyed, segmental-arched doorway with a half-glazed door. The window openings to the semi-basement are round-arched, whilst those to the upper two storeys are flat-arched.

On the side returns the semi-basement forms a lower ground floor, and the fenestration matches that to the front elevation. There is an impost band, doorway and three windows; four sash windows to the floor above and four shorter sashes to the upper floor; and two blocked openings on the return facing Paradise Street.

INTERIOR: the ground floor is understood to be altered, but is reported to contain a rear axial stair, and a roof with four paired king-post trusses, two on each tie beam.

History


The original Custom House was destroyed by fire in 1813 and replaced in replica; this original structure was itself a rebuilding of the late C18 Red Lion Coffee House. The Custom House forms a strong group with the Town Cellar (Grade I-listed) and Harbour Office (Grade II-listed) on the old quay, illustrative of the old quayside, and forming the entrance to Thames Street.

Reasons for Listing


The Custom House in Poole is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* this well-designed Georgian building is a handsome presence in this important location in Poole;
* for the reflection of the architecture of the Grade II*-listed mid-C18 Guildhall in its main elevation.

Historic interest:

* as a significant building within the development of the harbour and trade in Poole.

External Links

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