Description

PLYMOUTH

SX4753 THE PROMENADE, Hoe
740-1/66/301 The Esplanade Nos 1-8 (consec) and
25/01/54 forecourt walls & railings
(Formerly Listed as:
THE PROMENADE, Plymouth
The Esplanade Nos 1-8 (consec))

GV II*

Planned terrace of villas. 1836 by George Wightwick.
MATERIALS: stucco with stucco detail; dry slate mansard roofs,
except for No.3 with asbestos slate, hipped at the ends, all
behind interrupted parapet [central oval balustrade to No.1,
and to end returns] with console cornice entablature; attic
windows, some enlarged; stuccoed end and axial stacks with
plinths and plain cornices.
Palace front of Italianate influence.
PLAN: double-depth plan.
EXTERIOR: 3 storeys plus attic; symmetrical
3:4:1:3:1:4:3-window front with end houses and centre pair
broken forward and the 3 central bays further broken forward
to ground and 1st floors. No.1 with original hornless sashes
with glazing bars to 2nd floor and original fanlight heads and
glazing bars to overlight above French windows to 1st floor.
Simpler similar original heads to 1st-floor windows of No.2
(also to right-hand return). Otherwise mostly later sashes and
C20 windows to No.7; French windows to ground-floor openings
and to some 1st-floor windows. Stucco detail includes:
channelled rustication to ground floor; round arched windows
with moulded pilasters and arches to 1st floor; moulded eared
architraves to 2nd floor; the principal 3-bay projections each
with 1st-floor colonnade of 3 Corinthian half columns and
moulded entablature with vases above; blind centre bays.
Bulbous-shaped wrought-iron balconies to 1st floor.
End return elevations each of 3 bays, the left-hand return
with 2-storey central oriel with quadrant corners with bowed
windows, flanking bays with blind windows, the other return
with similar detail to recessed front bays.
Rear entrance front has parapet, cornice strings; 1st-floor
windows with moulded hoods on brackets; porches with moulded
impost and parapet strings; coupled porches to centre (Nos 4
and 5); panelled doors and many original hornless sashes with
glazing bars.
INTERIOR: not inspected but likely to reflect the strong
architectural character of the exterior.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: stuccoed forecourt walls with plinth,
band and square coping. U-shaped plan. Rear forecourt walls
surmounted by original wrought-iron railings with turned
finials and stanchions with acorn finials.
A fine example of its type, distinguished by some
Neo-Classical detail to the centre and end bays, more
characteristic of Foulston than Wightwick. Part of an
important planned group of terraces and villas by Foulston and
his pupil Wightwick on the Hoe, a scheme which placed Plymouth
in the forefront of town planning in the early/mid C19.
(The Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Devon: London: 1989-:
665; Colvin H: A Bibliographical Dictionary of British
Architects 1600-1840: London: 1978-: 888-890).

Listing NGR: SX4752353946

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17554627

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 West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  For the Record