Nos 38 and 39 and Railed Areas

This is a pair of houses, built around 1802, as part of James Townley’s early development of Spencer Square in Ramsgate. The houses are rendered and have a slate roof, with chimney stacks at each end. They have four storeys and a basement, topped with a parapet. The right-hand house has two full-height bowed windows on the second and third floors, each containing three sliding sash windows with glazing bars. The left-hand house has two full-height bowed windows on the third floor and three on the second floor, with a blocked central space. The ground floor has eighteen-pane sliding sash windows with curved verandahs supported by simple piers, including simple railings and valancing to the left-hand house (number 39). A single step leads to a pair of central double doors; the left-hand door is set within a fluted and moulded surround, while the right-hand door is in a 20th-century, pedimented surround. The basement area is enclosed by simple railings with urn finials. By 1810, the houses were used as officers’ quarters while the surrounding area served as Cavalry Barracks.