The Friary

The Friary is a purpose-built model dwelling for the poor, constructed in 1851 in the Gothic style by architect Thomas Ellis Owen. It consists of 24 individual dwellings and one shop along the Friary Close frontage. The exterior is faced in roughcast render with smooth rendered dressings and features a slate roof with a series of cemented chimneystacks. The large, irregularly-shaped building forms a rough L shape and stands three storeys high.

The entrance front facing Friary Close has four casement windows on the second floor, with the two central ones joined together. The first floor has five casement windows, two of which are joined and two are square oriel windows supported on brackets. The ground floor features five sash windows with vertical glazing bars and horns, with the end two on the right forming a small shop with a central doorcase. A plinth runs along the base. To the left, there is an archway supported by stone corbels, above which is a stylised rendered ribbon with the lettering "THE FRIARY" flanked by Maltese crosses. Behind the archway is a further range of nine windows, similar to those on the front but without oriel windows, and with projecting gabled bays on the first and fifth bays from the left. The gables have plain bargeboards with pendants. To the right, there is an arched porch.

The left side return has two windows, one of which on the first floor is a square oriel supported on wooden brackets. The rear elevation features two gables, one of which has elaborate fretted bargeboards. Most windows are original, although a few have been replaced with uPVC.

Inside, there are plain stone staircases with wooden balusters. Each dwelling consists of a sitting room with two or three bedrooms leading off internal corridors, designed specifically to "protect the inmates from the outer air." Model dwellings for the poor are a rare building type, and The Friary is a substantially intact example in Gothic style by the notable Portsmouth architect Thomas Ellis Owen.