The Old Watch House With Retaining Wall On North West And Quay On West

The Old Watch House, located on the south side of The Warren in Polperro, is a coastguard boathouse that has been converted into a private house. It dates from the late 18th century and features painted stone rubble with a slate roof that has hipped ends. There is a rendered lateral chimney stack on the side elevation facing The Warren, along with a projecting chimney stack that has a rendered shaft.

The building originally had a two-room single depth plan, with a boat store on the ground floor. The entrance to the boathouse is located in the gable end, while access to the accommodation is from The Warren. The structure is two storeys high with an attic on the harbour-facing elevation, and a single-storey elevation on the side facing The Warren. The elevation to The Warren includes a partly glazed door, and there is a 20th-century dormer that is hung with asbestos slate. Slate steps lead down to the front elevation, which features a wide timber lintel that was originally for the boat store opening.

On the ground floor, there is a 20th-century window and a partly glazed door, both of which have had glazing bars added. Above these, there is a 19th-century two-light casement window with a timber lintel, as well as a smaller attic half-dormer with a raking roof and a four-pane window. The harbour elevation is also two storeys with an attic, featuring a regular arrangement of windows: two small two-light casements flanking a larger two-light casement on the ground floor, and three two-light casements on the first floor. The attic dormers have raking roofs and two-light casements, with all windows featuring glazing bars and timber lintels on the ground and first floors.

The exteriors of the building remain unaltered. The interior has not been inspected. In front of the house, there is a terrace area that includes a small quay with additional steps leading down to the waterfront. A stone rubble retaining wall is present above the quay and along the harbour. A late 19th-century photograph of the old coastguard boathouse can be found in "S de Burlet Portrait of Polperro," published in 1977.