The China House

The China House is a large warehouse, now a public house, dating back to 1650 and extended in the late 18th century. It is located on Sutton Road, off the Barbican in Plymouth. The building is constructed of Plymouth limestone rubble with a new dry slate hipped roof. It has a large rectangular plan with a 20th-century wing at the rear centre.

The exterior is two storeys high with a nine-window range, the three central windows now sheltered by an open gabled balconied projection. The windows and doors are 20th-century replacements. The left-hand return wall features a blocked round-arched opening towards the rear.

Inside, original 17th-century features remain in the end walls, including a blocked chamfered fireplace and remnants of a winder staircase at the left-hand end. A segmental-arched fireplace is present at the opposite end. Several original oak roof trusses, exhibiting curved feet, lapped and dove-tailed collars, and evidence of threaded purlins, have been reused.

The building has a rich history. Purchased by the Harbour Commissioners in 1667, it was used as a victualling and naval storehouse. In 1697, it served as a gun wharf for the Board of Ordnance, and in 1756, it was adapted as a naval hospital. Between 1768 and 1774, it housed the factory of William Cookworthy, the first maker of porcelain in England, who secured a patent in 1768. Despite conversion, the building contributes positively to the harbour’s character, representing an early example of a warehouse in England and holding significance for its role in the development of porcelain manufacture.