Description

PORTLAND

SY6873 HIGH STREET, Fortuneswell
969-1/3/116 (North side)
21/09/78 The Captain's House and attached
wall to SE
(Formerly Listed as:
HIGH STREET
House between King Street and
Mallams, Facing High Street)

II

Ruins of former large detached house. Mid C18. Portland ashlar
with pecked surface, no roof. This is a long-standing ruin of
a dignified house, built in two parts; left is a symmetrical
two-storey 3-windowed unit with central portico, then, beyond
a straight joint, a wide one-bay unit with two-storey canted
bay. Left part has 3 over 2 openings with stone cills,
formerly with sashes, and a central Gibbsian portico to
pediment, remains only of cheeks and banded front piers. Full
entablature with modillion cornice and pediment remain, also
worn steps and lowest stone course to cheeks. Openings each
side of porch to basement. The canted bay to right formerly
had 3 large sashes at each level with extremely narrow corner
mullions. The left (N) return has an elegant small Palladian
window with keystones over a similar doorway. South gable has
central opening at first floor and another at ground floor,
left. Interior has cross wall to centre, remains of a
fireplace in the E wall at first floor,to square opening and
hearth, above similar of less projection to ground floor. Wall
niche opposite main door, and a shallow niche c 2m high x
450mm wide on the E wall near the Palladian door. There are
steps down to basement from the entry hall, which has stone
floor. Subsidiary features: from the middle of the south gable
wall a stone boundary wall c 2.5m high runs out to site
boundary, and returns forward towards High Street in irregular
steps. This was formerly one of the grandest houses in
Underhill, but now needs some attention to stabilise it for
the future.
(Royal Commission on Historical Monuments: Dorset: London:
1970-: 254-5).

Listing NGR: SY6852573419

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• The Captain's House at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q7721272

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

• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)