Custom House

Custom house with bonded warehouses, built in 1820 by David Laing, who designed it as his first job as Surveyor of the Customs. The front is of granite ashlar with dressed granite detailing, while the rear is of Plymouth limestone rubble with limestone dressings; the roof is concealed behind a moulded parapet at the front and a coped parapet at the rear. The building has a large rectangular plan.

The exterior is two storeys with a symmetrical 5-window front featuring round-arched openings, the first-floor ones having recessed panels. The central three ground-floor arches are open to a loggia with a three-bay groined vault. The parapet has a stepped centre with a clock face.

The rear elevation is three storeys with a 2:1:2-bay front and a central break. Keyed segmental arches are present to the ground and first floors on the left and right sides, and most of the second-floor openings have been widened. A wide central segmental-arched doorway and narrower doorways are located at the left and right; the right-hand doorway retains its original six-panel door with flush bottom panels, while the one on the left is now blocked.

The interior was only briefly inspected, but warehouses are vaulted on the ground floor. This is a particularly fine example of its building type.