Description

TORQUAY

SX9263 VANEHILL ROAD
885-1/18/294 (South East side)
10/01/75 Vane Towers and Villa Lugano
(Formerly Listed as:
VANE HILL ROAD
Vane Towers, Little Maderia and
Villa Lugano)

GV II

Villa, divided into three. c1870. Snecked local grey
limestone; Roman tile roof; stacks with elaborate brick shafts
with corbelled cornices and round-headed flue dividers.
PLAN: Irregular plan with main pedestrian entrance on the NW
side and tower at eastern corner.
EXTERIOR: 2 storeys and attic with 3-stage tower. Asymmetrical
4-window front (one to the tower to the right). Very deep
eaves with moulded rafter ends. Polychromatic banding of
relief tiles and stone; windows with elaborate architraves,
some with keyblocks and tiled lintels. Projecting porch in
centre of main block with gable treated as a pediment above a
projecting cornice. Round-headed doorway with corner
pilasters, an inner order of moulded tiles and a panelled
front door with fanlight. Front elevation recessed above porch
with a one-light window. Windows mostly glazed with
high-transomed mullioned windows with square leaded panes:
unfortunate window replacement to second-floor right.
The tower, set back to the right, has a hipped slate roof with
eaves brackets. Tower windows round-headed and arranged as
pairs or singles. Other elevations continue the elaborate
polychromatic Italianate style.
INTERIOR: Partially inspected. One of the principal rooms
retains an elaborate inglenook; other features of interest may
survive.
This building is prominent from many points in Torquay. It is
said to have been built for the first American Ambassador to
England,

Listing NGR: SX9207163233

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26579677

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

• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House