Description

TORQUAY

SX9263 MEADFOOT SEA ROAD
885-1/18/169 Nos. 1-15 (consecutive) Hesketh
20/11/52 Crescent and attached railings

GV II*

Includes: Nos.1-15 attached railings HESKETH CRESCENT.
Crescent of 15 houses, now divided into holiday flats and
hotel. 1846-48 by the younger Harveys for Sir Laurence Palk.
Plastered; roof concealed behind parapet; stacks with rendered
shafts with platbands.
PLAN: Concave terrace, each house double-depth on plan,
one-room wide with an off-centre door, centre five bays
conceived as one unit with a central doorway.
EXTERIOR: 3 storeys, basement and attic, the attic storey
raised at a later stage, eliminating the original central
pediment. 47-bay range. Centre 5 bays broken forward; ground
floor rusticated, first and second floors with fluted
Composite pilasters supporting an enriched entablature below a
deep projecting cornice with dentil and modillion friezes.
Attic storey windows also divided by pilasters, crowned with
urns. Windows reglazed with plate-glass timber sashes, the
ground floor with segmental heads, keyblocks and moulded
architraves; the first floor with alternating segmental and
triangular pediments on consoles.
The other houses mostly have round-headed ground-floor windows
with chanelled rusticated pilasters between; round-headed
doorways; first-floor piano nobile has cast-iron balconies
with anthemion pattern and tent roof with fretted fascias;
cable moulding at second-floor level and enriched friezes
below the cornice, matching the centre house.
End houses break forward with giant pilasters and first-floor
windows treated to match the centre house. The returns
pedimented. Fine set of area railings with spearhead finials
complement the more decorative iron balconies.
INTERIOR: Not inspected, but likely to retain features of
interest.
HISTORY: The centre house is said to have been the residence
of Sir Laurence Palk. Ellis mentions (without a reference)
that Hesketh Crescent was described as "the finest crescent in
the West of England".
Spectacularly-sited, overlooking the sea. This is the grandest
work in Torquay undertaken by the Harvey sons, whose father
built Higher Terrace (qv) in 1811.
(Ellis CA: An Historical Survey of Torquay, 2nd edition:
1930-: P.285).

Listing NGR: SX9301063138

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17549925

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.

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