Ferryside and quay walls

Ferryside and quay walls

A former shipwright's yard and workshop with accommodation above, built by John Marks between 1830 and 1838, and converted to a dwelling in 1927 by the Du Maurier family. The adjoining slip and quay wall may predate the building.

The structure is principally built of local rubble stone with oak floor and roof structures. The rear incorporates the killas rock cliff face against which the building is constructed. The first floor of the north end is of brick, and there are two brick ridge stacks. The roofs are covered in North American slate from Vermont, and the upper storey of the southern half is slate hung and weatherboarded. The quay wall is granite.

The plan is irregular, comprising three storeys to the south and two storeys plus attic to the north. The ground floor contains two principal rooms divided by a spine wall with an arched opening with voussoirs. The main stair is positioned at the north end with accommodation and kitchen above.

The principal elevation faces four bays with two prominent jettied gables to the right. The left bays are under a pitched roof, and the ground floor features a large arched window opening with keystone. The first floor windows are set within brick elevations and have external shutters. The right bays of the façade are rubble stone, and the jettied second floor is weatherboarded. The right bay contains a segmental-arched window and a door to the left with a timber sign painted FERRYSIDE above. Under the south-west corner of the jetty is a fibreglass replica of the Jane Slade figurehead. The windows in the gable ends have small hoods and external shutters.

The south end elevation has a modern attached timber veranda and stone steps. This elevation is slate hung, with a projecting door under a pitched roof to the left. The right bay projects slightly forward. The north end elevation has a central door with shuttered windows above, and an external stair to the left leading to a rear kitchen door on the first floor.

The early 19th-century structure is evident in the form of stop-chamfered beams of large scantling and joists supporting the first floor. The slate flagstones were re-laid on top for screed in 1993 and may date to the 19th century. The majority of historic interior fittings date from the early 20th-century refurbishment and include substantial timber stairs to each floor with splat balusters, chimneypieces, a dumb waiter, servant bells in the kitchen, bathroom fittings, and joinery including fitted cupboards. To the right of an altered inglenook fireplace towards the south end of the ground floor, the original timber figurehead of Jane Slade is fixed to the wall. The rear of the building, built into the killas rock, displays visible rock in the interior of the south end.

At the perimeter of the front garden is the rubble stone quay wall, built on the river edge and curving at the corner alongside the ferry slipway. It incorporates a smaller slipway, possibly formerly a sawpit, which was used by the shipyard in the 19th century.

A late 19th-century single-storey building by the entrance gates is rectangular on plan and serves as a garage in the 21st century.