Description

PORTSMOUTH

SU6300 QUEEN STREET
774-1/8/100 (South side)
25/09/72 HMS Nelson: The Wardroom and
attached bollards
(Formerly Listed as:
QUEEN STREET
Officers Mess of HMS Victory
Barracks)

GV II

Officers' quarters and mess. 1899-1903. By Sir Henry
Pilkington, RE, for the Admiralty. Red brick in English bond
with rusticated basement; lavish yellow stone dressings. Slate
roof with corniced, multi-flue, chimneys. Free Baroque style.
PLAN: axial plan of 3 linked blocks, each double depth with
rear centre wardroom.
EXTERIOR: 2 storeys on basement, outer blocks with attic. 7
bay centre with central entrance tower; outer accommodation
blocks of 5 bays. Ashlar bands; eaves cornice and architraves
with tripartite keystones, and pediments to central block.
Windows mostly 12-pane sashes. Dated heads to rainwater pipes.
Outer blocks have external chimney stacks as buttresses each
side of centre, linked by pierced arched parapet above eaves;
Tuscan porches to centre on ground floor, with balustrades and
above, a 2-storey window with carved panels and a
stepped-gableted dormer.
Centre block: tower projects, crowned by Ionic columned cupola
with ship finial; on ground floor, Tuscan portico on brick
basement with entablature, balustraded panelled parapet, and
flights of steps at each side and at front, the latter
breaking through under arch with royal coat of arms; 2-storey
stair-window above has pilastered architrave with gablet and
obelisk finial. Bay to left has Venetian window on 1st floor;
bay to right paired windows; 2nd floor pilasters some rising
from cartouches with admiralty crests; end bays have 2-storey
canted oriels below gables with former ship figureheads in
niches. Linking bays each have giant blind arch with
rusticated voussoirs and massive carved keystone; 5-light
window above and stepped embattled parapet. At south-west
corner of building, 2 inverted cannon barrel bollards.
INTERIOR: fine wardroom has Ionic entrance with decorative
frieze, massive fireplace, musicians' gallery with elaborately
carved dated frieze; above panelled wainscot, a series of
paintings of famous naval battles including 'The Glorious 1st
of June' and 'Copenhagen' by H Wylie; coats of arms of Nelson

and his captains at Trafalgar; arch-braced queen post roof;
decorative iron chandeliers. Stair hall: marbled columns,
stair rising around 3 sides has panelled wooden balustrade
with carvings of The Victory throughout the ages and the
ship's battle honours; decorative pediments and finials to
newels. Other principal rooms have panelling, decorative
fireplaces, Ionic pilasters and marbled columns supporting
friezes and cornices, compartmental ceilings. Panelling,
doors, light fittings and mirror re-used from the Royal Yacht
Victoria and Albert after its decommissioning c1953.
HISTORY: a near-identical design to the other officer's
quarters at Devonport and Chatham naval barracks, the first
built for sailors, and a strikingly rich and strongly
articulated piece of architecture. One of the clearest
manifestations of the status and confidence of the Royal Navy
at this time.
(PSA Drawings Collection, NMR, Swindon: PTM/1703-15).

Listing NGR: SU6373200461

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26666808

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

• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
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  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)