Superintendents House, Attached Walls And Railings

The Superintendents House, along with its attached walls and railings, is an officers' house located at the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard, built between 1830 and 1831 by G L Taylor, the architect for the Navy Board. This building is constructed of stuccoed brick and features ridge and end lateral stacks, topped with a slate hipped valley roof, reflecting a late Georgian style. It has a double-depth plan.

The exterior consists of two storeys, an attic, and a basement, arranged in a symmetrical four-window range. The front displays a basement band, cornice, and parapet, with a right-hand porch that has a cornice and steps leading up to a doorway with a double panelled door and overlight. The windows are 3/3-pane horned sashes, with some original 6/6-pane windows still in place, and the ground floor windows are taller. Flat-headed dormers are located at each end of the roof. The rear elevation is made of brick and features a two-storey projecting central porch with French windows that include margin bars.

Inside, there is a central axial passage and a notable central rear open dogleg cantilevered stair with a curtail and stick balusters. This leads to a round-arched doorway that opens to the rear porch, which has a fanlight and half-glazed doors with margin lights. The interior retains original plasterwork and joinery, including doors, shutters, and kitchen fittings in the basement.

The attached garden walls to the right and the iron railings surrounding the front basement areas are additional features of the property. Historically, this house served as the residence for the Yard Deputy Superintendent and is part of a symmetrical plan that includes the flanking archway and the Superintendent's house. The navy traditionally housed senior yard officers on site. Although the Royal Clarence Yard is less grand and has undergone more alterations than the Royal William Yard in Devonport, it remains significant as one of the first large industrial food processing plants in the country, highlighting the extensive scale of the navy's victualling operations.