Description

TA 10 80 and FILEY WEST AVENUE
TA 11 80 (east side)

11/23 Nos 27 to 41 (odd)
with iron railings
to entrance steps

II

Has been replaced by:-

FILEY
TA 10 80 and WEST AVENUE
TA 11 80 (east side)

11/23 Nos 27 and 29, Nos 31 and 33
(West House)and Nos 35 to
41 (odd) with iron railings
to entrance steps

23.8.85 II

Terrace of townhouses, several converted into flats, circa 1840.

MATERIALS
Fine red brick in Flemish bond to West Avenue, rougher brick in English Garden wall bond to rear. Modern colour wash to the side and rear of no.41 and to the rear of two further properties is not of special interest. Welsh slate roofs.

PLAN
Three storey with half basement and attic. Each house is of two bays and is double depth, with the entrance to the left, and the dog leg staircase originally top lit and aligned with the ridge. The principal reception room was on the first floor to the front, spanning both bays.

EXTERIOR
Front: entrances are approached by steps flanked by railings. Original doors are of four panels with rectangular overlights, recessed into panelled reveals and framed by Classical doorcases (Doric columns supporting a hood in the form of a corniced entablature). When first listed in 1985, six doors were noted implying that two are modern reinstatements, probably including that to no.33 which has a six panelled door set within a doorcase, but lacking the panelled reveal. Windows have gauged brick flat arches, the original joinery being multi-paned sashes, those to the first floor extending down to a stuccoed storey band. Some modern replacement windows: those to no. 41 and 35 being unsympathetic. No's 27, 29, 35 and 39 have later C19 style canted bay windows to the ground floor. No's 27 & 39 have roof dormer windows. The roof of no. 41 has been replaced with an unsympathetic mansard roof, although it retains flanking chimney stacks. Ridge stacks also survive between each of the townhouses with the exception to the one between 29 and 31.Ornate railings survive to the front of no. 27 and 29.

Rear: this is of lesser significance than the front elevation. It is of more utilitarian design and has undergone more alteration with a number of replacement windows and the addition of a couple of modern fire escapes. However half of the houses retain nearly all of their multi-paned sashes. No. 41 is the most altered being colour washed and having changed window openings including two full height canted bays.

INTERIOR
Those inspected internally retained their staircase from ground to second floor, the staircase having an open string with simple brackets, and turned balusters supporting a handrail that is either ramped or wreathed around the dog legs, ending with a curtail on the ground floor. Other surviving period features include decorative brackets between the entrance passage and the stair hall; plaster coving to the original reception rooms; and items of joinery including skirtings and architrave.

HISTORY
In 1835, J W Unett, a solicitor from Birmingham, bought an area of farmland on the outskirts of the fishing village of Filey (the area now bounded by West Avenue, Glen Gardens and Murray Street). Encouraging Filey's expansion as a seaside resort, he laid out streets and sold off plots to builders for development, with the coming of the railway in 1846 providing further stimulation to the expansion of Filey. The terrace forming 27-41 West Avenue is believed to date to circa 1840 and to have been one of the first terraces completed.

REASON FOR DESIGNATION
The terrace, 27-41 West Avenue, is designated at grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural: A good example of a late Georgian style terrace of town houses, particularly notable for its front entrances and the floor length windows to the first floor.
* Craftsmanship: Displayed by the quality of the brickwork to the front elevation and the original joinery of the doorcases and windows.
* Historical: As one of the first terraces completed as part of the development of Filey as a seaside resort in the mid C19.
* In a national context, the terrace of eight townhouses as a whole is relatively unaltered.

NGR: TA1168980513

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26602750

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

• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)