38 Kent Road and 3-15 (consec) Portland Terrace, Southsea, with attached iron railings, concrete boundary wall and piers, Southsea, City of Portsmouth

Summary

A terrace of 13 houses converted into flats c1978 and a former hotel, all built in 1846-49 by the architect builder and developer TE Owen.

Description

A terrace of 13 houses and a former hotel/public house, built in 1846-49 by the architect TE Owen.

MATERIALS: stuccoed brick with low pitched slate roofs.

PLAN: comprises 32 bays, 4 storeys and a basement.

The terrace has centre and end projecting wings, the northernmost of which is the former Havana Bar, earlier called the Portland Hotel and prior to that The Dog public house, but is now (2013) a vacant building; it faces both Portland Terrace and Kent Road (No 38). No 40 Kent Road, an adjoining building, is not included in the listing. The terrace of houses has been converted into flats including Nos 3, 4b, 5b-f, 6b, 7b-f, 8b-f, 9b, 10-11, 11c, 12-13 Portland Terrace.

There are stuccoed chimney stacks with a moulded cap to centre and right of the left wing, centre and left of the right wing, centre of the centre wing and at the centre between each two flanking houses. The terrace has horizontal rusticated ground floors and rusticated quoins (vermiculated at ground floor level to the former hotel facade facing Kent Road).

EXTERIOR: north facade (facing Kent Road): the main front of the former Portland Hotel (No 38) faces Kent Road (north) and has at its centre a projecting flat roofed porch. Three stone steps approach a 2-leaf, 6-panelled door, with upper panels glazed, set under a cambered arch with flanking pilasters and dentiled cornice. To the left is a 6-pane sash set under a flat arch with plain architrave and recessed apron. There is a blind window to the right of the porch. A continuous slate balcony at the first floor has ornate iron railings. The first floor has to left and centre a 15-pane round-headed unequal full length sash with radial panes at the top of each, set under an architrave arch with flanking pilasters. There is a blind window to the right. There is a sillband to the second floor with to left and centre a 16-pane sash, each set under a flat arch with architrave surround. There is a further blind window to the right. There is a linked fleur-de-lys moulded band at the third floor, and to the centre and left is a squat, round-headed 6-pane casement, each set under a round arch with architrave. The window to the right is blind. The deep boxed eaves have paired brackets.

West facade (facing Portland Road): at the left the 2-bay projecting wing (No 38 Kent Road) has a mid C20 flat roofed porch with a door and flanking sashes. The first floor has two round-headed sashes, the second floor a sillband with two 16-pane sashes, a moulded band and, at the third floor, two 6-pane round-headed casements and eaves all similar to the north facade. To the right of the projecting wing, within the recessed face of No 38, are two 12-pane sashes each set under a flat arch with plain architrave and recessed apron. A balcony at the first floor, similar to that of the north facade, runs the whole length of the facade between the projecting wings, which have separate balconies. The first floor has three round-headed sashes and the second floor three sashes set under flat arches similar to the left projecting wing. The third floor has a moulded band, three squat casements set under flat arches, each of the two right casements has three panes, and each casement is set between eaves brackets. There are deep boxed eaves. Further right Nos 3, 4b, 5b-f and 6b have each a 6-panelled door with overlight. On the right of the door to No. 3 is a sash set under a flat arch. At the right of each door to Nos 4b, 5b-f and 6b is a tripartite sash with centre 8-panes and narrow flanking 4-pane sashes each set under a flat arch. The first floor has paired round-headed 5-pane unequal full length sashes, each set under an architrave arch with flanking pilasters. The second floor has a sillband and two 16-pane sashes each set under a flat arch with architrave surround. There is a moulded band similar to that of the north facade and two 4-pane third floor casements set between eaves brackets. To the left of the centre projection, within the recessed face, is an open projecting porch with round-arched opening and flanking pilasters. Three stone steps approach a 6-panelled access door to No. 7b-f. There is a similar porch entrance on the right of the projection with access to No. 8b-f. Over each porch is one first floor, second floor and third floor window similar to the adjacent facade windows. The centre 4-bay projection has four 12-pane sashes each set under a flat arch. The first floor has two paired round-headed sashes, the second floor has four 15-pane sashes and the third floor 4 round-headed sashes, all similar to the end projections. To the right of the centre projecting wing, No. 9 has a panelled door with a tripartite sash to the left. Nos 10-11, 11c and 12-13 have each a 12-pane sash to left of each door, a balcony, paired first-floor round-headed sashes, a band and two third-floor casements all similar to the facade at the far left. To the far right, at the corner with the end projecting wing, is a similar porch with panelled door and overlight access to Nos 14 and 15. There are two 12-pane sashes on the left, a balcony, three first-floor round-headed sashes (one paired), three second-floor sashes and three third-floor casements, all similar to the adjacent part of the facade. The right projecting wing has a similar facade to the far left projecting wing except that the ground floor has two 12-pane sashes and a first floor balcony. The right return (south) is similar to the left return (north) of the far left projecting wing except that the ground floor has a 16-pane sash on each side of the central porch, and each floor has three windows.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: the basement areas have attached iron railings. The concrete boundary wall (restored to original profile) has a moulded oval pierced top with weathered coping set in panels with intermediate square coped piers. The gate piers at north and south ends each have a weathered coping supporting ball.

History

Portland Terrace was built in 1846-49 by TE Owen and the houses converted into flats c1978. Thomas Ellis Owen (1805-1862) is considered to be the architect who had perhaps the greatest influence on the development of Southsea. Also a developer and builder, he was responsible for many buildings in the town in the mid C19 particularly around the areas of Kent Road, Queens Crescent and Villiers Road. Listed examples in Kent Road include Nos. 51 and 53 and St Jude’s Church, all Grade II. His vision for the town was that of a villa suburb, in the style of the work carried out by John Nash on the Park Villages in Regents Park (built c1820-1830) which set detached villas on winding roads. A Blue Plaque was unveiled to TE Owen in July 2004 at Owen’s house, Dovercourt, 36 Kent Road where he lived from 1849.

Reasons for Listing

38 Kent Road and 3-15 (consecutive) Portland Terrace, Southsea, with attached iron railings, concrete boundary wall and piers, are listed for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: a well-conceived, genteel, 1840s urban set-piece which survives in externally intact condition including its associated boundary walls and railings;
* Authorship: designed by TE Owen, the architect considered to have had perhaps the greatest influence on the development of Southsea.

External Links

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