Undertown Including Terrace Walls And Sunken Garden Walls West, South And South West

Undertown is a house with terrace walls and a sunken garden, built in 1928 (as indicated by a datestone) and extended in the mid to late 20th century. It was designed by Robert Atkinson for Ernest Betjeman, father of Sir John Betjeman. The house is constructed of stone rubble, with some slate hanging, and has a random slate roof with gable ends. A large projecting stone rubble hall stack with an inglenook and lean-to roof is located on the left hand gable end, and there’s an axial stack, originally a gable end stack, to the right of centre. The original layout consisted of a two-room, single-depth plan: a large hall living room on the left and a smaller dining room on the right—both heated by gable end stacks. A turreted stair is located in a projection to the rear of the hall. There's a small, single-storey service range on the right, which was extended in the mid to late 20th century to create an overall four-room, single-depth plan. The design is in the Arts and Crafts style.

The house is two storeys high, with a steeply pitched slate roof that sweeps down to first floor level on the front elevation. There are shallow, projecting single-storey bays to the right, left, and centre. The original left-hand range has a nearly symmetrical three-window front, with the roof sweeping down over a shallow porch on square stone rubble piers, containing glazed doors, and over a single bay to the right, featuring a two-light casement. A two-storey, slate-hung bay is centrally located, with a four-light casement on both the ground and first floors. Two full dormers with flat roofs are situated to the right and left. To the right is an extended single-storey service range, remodelled to create a two-storey, two-window range, where the roof sweeps down to form a sheltered porch with a shallow bay to the right. Two full dormers with flat roofs and casements are present. The rear elevation features a large, semi-circular stair tower with a flat roof. A datestone reading "EEB 1928" is located above the entrance to the left.

The interior retains complete joinery and fittings, including a well-designed timber newel stair with ball finials, and simple chimney-pieces. The garden is terraced to the west, south-west, and south of the house, following the sloping ground towards the sea, and is enclosed by low slatestone rubble walls. To the west, a small, sheltered, sunken garden is constructed from low slatestone rubble walls. Original drawings of the house by the architect R. Atkinson are in the possession of the current owner.