Whispers

A pair of attached houses, likely dating to around 1750, with alterations in the 19th and 20th centuries. The houses are built of rubble, rendered and lined out, with a slate roof and rendered stacks to the rear slope. They are arranged with a double depth plan; each has an entrance on the right and a room to the front and rear to the left, with "Whispers" having a wide stair hall. The right-hand wall of Whispers is built into the former sea wall of Kingsand village, which historically ran along the rear of The Cleave.

The houses are two storeys high, set on a plinth, and comprise two bays to the left of No. 2 and three bays for Whispers. No. 2 has 12-pane sash windows in exposed boxes, and a 20th-century glazed door with a 19th-century cornice on consoles. Whispers also features 12-pane sash windows, a 20th-century glazed door with a Gothic glazed overlight, and a similarly styled 19th-century cornice on consoles. A moulded wooden eaves cornice runs over the entire pair. A 12-pane sash window at ground floor level in the right side of Whispers illuminates the entrance hall. Both houses contain fine interiors.

Inside No. 2, the ground floor entrance passage leads to a front room with a 20th-century fireplace, flanked by 18th-century cupboards with shaped shelves and panelled lower doors. A fielded panelled partition wall separates the passage. A segmental-headed archway with a key stone contains a winder stair leading to the left between the front and rear rooms. The stair features stick balusters and a Chinoiserie panel on the first-floor landing, resembling those at Balcony Cottage, Garrett Street, and Island Cottage, The Cleave. The rest of the interior of No. 2 was not inspected.

The interior of Whispers features a wide entrance hall, leading to a front room of unusual quality with complete fielded panelling, a dado rail, dentils, and a moulded cornice. A 20th-century fireplace is situated slightly to the left on the rear wall, with concealed cupboard space behind the panelling to the side of the flue. To either side are cupboards with shaped shelves, segmental heads with pilasters, and panelled lower doors. The windows are fitted with panelled shutters with original spring-release catches. A dog-leg stair is located to the rear right of the entrance hall, including some stick balusters and column newels, with panelled cupboards beneath the stairwell. A partition wall within the entrance hall is also panelled, although partially concealed by 20th-century decoration. On the first floor, the front room to the left has a chimneypiece with an eared architrave and dentils below the moulded mantel, alongside a rear cupboard with a glazed upper door, scrolled frieze and cornice; a dado rail is also present. The room to the rear has a plain chimneypiece and a panelled cupboard with drawers. The front room to the right is notable for a fine plaster frieze featuring acanthus and floral mouldings.