Description

KINGS LYNN

610-1/0/10013 ST EDMUNDS TERRACE
16-APR-09 6

GV II
House; originally officers' accommodation and boathouse for Coastguard Station. 1883. Early C20 and C21 alterations. Red brick laid in Flemish Bond; tile roof.

PLAN: The building is square in plan, with a rear wing to the southeast; it has two storeys. There are C20 single storey extensions to north and south of the back yard. Originally two halves, the north range included the boathouse and has a pitched roof with gables at each end, the west end projecting forward slightly. The rear wing of the south range is lower and has a hipped roof, while the ridge of the main roof of this range runs from south to north, and carries the single centrally placed long narrow chimney stack.

EXTERIOR: The west elevation overlooking the river presents the gable end of the north range with immediately to the south a small gabled dormer with window below. Under each gable is a small moulded brick plaque. That to the north depicts the Crown and Anchor motif of the Royal Navy, while that under the smaller gable carries the date, 1883. The north range also has two bands of moulded brick decoration above and below the first floor windows, both with alternate sunflower and leaf motifs. The south range has a flat roofed canted bay window to the ground floor with a band of egg and dart ornament in moulded brick below the cornice. There are three further windows at this end; that to the south of the bay was originally a door with cambered arch over, and the boot scraper survives by its side. The ground floor of the north range contains a modern uPVC canted bay with French doors in the wide opening presumed to be original to the boathouse. Above this bay is a pair of windows, also with cambered arches. All the windows in this elevation are modern uPVC replacements for the originals, but all the other windows in the house retain their wooden casements. In the east elevation the window below the north gable is placed slightly off centre to allow for the slope of the roof of the look-out tower. This has windows to both east and north, meeting at the north-east corner. The roof line of the look-out tower has been extended over an early C20 pebble dashed extension, which continues as a similar later C20 single storey addition. A single storey extension to the south joins the rear wing to an original outbuilding, and a wall to the east encloses the space to form a yard; this contains a well covered with a stone slab.

INTERIOR: The interior was not seen, but it has been suggested that a stick baluster stair survives.

HISTORY: Until 1856, when the Coast Guard Service Act brought the Coastguard under the control of the Royal Navy, there had been a small number of officers based in Kings Lynn fulfilling mainly customs duties. In 1875 plans were drawn up for a new coastguard station, now St Edmunds Terrace, and this was opened in 1883. There were 80 such establishments by 1900 around the British coast, all built by the Admiralty. Three officers occupied what is now 6 St Edmunds Terrace, which was apparently divided between domestic accommodation and a boathouse. The station was commanded by Capt Sir Alfred Bagge RN, 4th Bart. (1843 1916), who also served as Deputy Lieutenant for Norfolk. Both the 1887 and 1905 OS maps show the building as two units, with a wide path - presumably a slipway - running from the north end of the west elevation down the slope towards the river. A terrace of five cottages (UID167498) provided accommodation for the crew and their families, while a detached building at the south end of the terrace, now known as the Battery House (UID167499), seems to have functioned as a residential training college for young men from the surrounding area interested in a career at sea.

By 1922 the Kings Lynn Coastguard Station contained a detachment of only four men. With the establishment of the new service, HM Coastguard, in 1925 the station was closed and sold. The 1928 OS map shows 6 St Edmunds Terrace as one unit with a small extension added to the back.

SOURCES: William Webb, Coastguard: an official history of HM Coastguard (1976).

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: 6 St Edmunds Terrace is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Its design is careful and well considered, and pays attention to decorative detail. Of particular interest is the moulded brick plaque containing the Royal Navy Crown and Anchor motif.
* It is a rarely surviving example of separate officers' accommodation and boathouse for a Coastguard station.
* It forms part of an unusual surviving ensemble of coastguard buildings, including a terrace of cottages and a third detached building, the Battery House, with which it has strong group value.
* It is a reminder of the significant role played by the Coastguard Service in the maritime history that informs our island identity.

NGR TF6129421035

Reasons for Listing

6 St Edmunds Terrace is designated for listing at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Its design is careful and well considered, and pays attention to decorative detail. Of particular interest is the moulded brick plaque containing the Royal Navy Crown and Anchor motif.
* It is a rarely surviving example of separate officers' accommodation and boathouse for a Coastguard station.
* It forms part of an unusual ensemble of coastguard buildings, including a terrace of cottages and a third detached building, the Battery House, with which it has strong group value.
* It is a reminder of the significant role played by the Coastguard Service in the maritime history that informs our island identity, and of the history of the important port of Kings Lynn.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26672408

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

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  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
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  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)