Number 1 And 3 And Attached Forecourt Railings

NUMBER 1 AND 3 AND ATTACHED FORECOURT RAILINGS

This building, originally an asylum (orphanage) and now offices, was constructed in the mid-to-late 19th century, with extensions added in 1879. It is stucco-clad with dry slate hipped roofs. The central roof features a bracketed cornice, while the lower flanking roofs have modillion cornices resting on a moulded entablature. A rendered stack is located to the left of the centre. Cast-iron ogee gutters are present.

The building's plan is an overall double-depth U-shape. The original section has two rooms at the front, framing a central entrance hall, with the flanking wings each containing one room at the front and a deep rear projection.

The exterior is symmetrical, with a recessed five-window front, flanked by two-story wings with wide tripartite windows. Original sash windows with glazing bars are housed within moulded architraves in the central section and on the returns and rear. Paired sashes are present at the centre and on the left and right sides of the third floor. The front of each wing contains a tripartite window to each floor; the ground floor incorporates Tuscan mullions on a Venetian window, the first floor has Tuscan mullions plus an entablature with a pedimented centre break, and the second floor features recessed moulded architraves and a moulded sill. Other stucco details include a plinth, channelled rustication to the wings and a central doorway with a round-arched opening, a moulded entablature above the ground floor, a mid-floor panel above the first floor, a moulded string near the heads of the second-floor windows, and a mid-floor cornice above. A panel on the right-hand wing bears the inscription: "For the destitute female orphans of sailors, soldiers and Royal Marines; Patroness the Queen".

The interior has not been inspected, but is believed to reflect the quality of the exterior.

Simple, low wrought-iron railings with arrowhead finials are present as a subsidiary feature.