3-15, Royal Terrace

Royal Terrace comprises a row of 12 houses, numbered 3 to 15, built in 1791 as part of a scheme to develop the south end of Prittlewell parish as a seaside resort. In 1803, Princess Caroline of Wales resided at numbers 7 and 8, leading to the terrace’s renaming as Royal Terrace in 1804. Numbers 1 and 2 are now incorporated into the Royal Hotel. The terrace is constructed of yellow brick, with stuccoed ground floors, a parapet, and a modillion cornice. Numbers 4 and 5, and 10 and 11, have stucco facades. Alterations were made in the 19th century. The houses are three storeys high with attics. Numbers 3 to 6 have a twelve-window front, numbers 7 and 8 have a four-window front with stucco pilasters extending through the upper two storeys, and numbers 9 to 14 have an eighteen-window front. Number 15 has a three-window front, altered in the 20th century, featuring a 20th-century attic storey. The windows are predominantly double-hung sashes, some with glazing bars, with some being casements. Ornamental cast iron balconies, supported by slender cast iron pillars, were added in the 19th century to the first storey; the balconies to number 14 feature twisted pillars. The entrances feature six-panel doors with semi-circular fanlights incorporating radial glazing bars and fluted architraves. Numbers 7 and 8 have Doric engaged columns with open dentilled pediments, and numbers 9, 12 and 14 have rusticated surrounds to the doorways. The central section, encompassing numbers 7 and 8, has a slate mansard roof with two semi-circular dormer windows. Numbers 3 to 15 form a group with the Royal Hotel on High Street.