Tarring and Wheel House (S 136) and Tarred Yarn House (S 137) is a Grade II* listed building in the Plymouth local planning authority area, England. First listed on 13 August 1999. A Industrial Revolution Industrial building.

Tarring and Wheel House (S 136) and Tarred Yarn House (S 137)

WRENN ID
moated-spire-willow
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Plymouth
Constituency
Plymouth Sutton and Devonport MP: Luke Pollard (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
13 August 1999
Type
Industrial building
Period
Industrial Revolution
Address
Tarring and Wheel House (S 136) and Tarred Yarn House (S 137), South Yard, City of Plymouth
OS grid reference
SX 451 542
Coordinates
50.36781, -4.17808
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Tarring and Wheel House and Tarred Yarn House, built in 1763, are located in Devonport Dockyard and are constructed from limestone rubble with dressings and a slate roof. The buildings feature a rectangular open plan and are two storeys high with a basement, arranged in a 5:1:2-bay range. The exterior includes rusticated quoins, a plat band, and a flat cornice leading to a parapet, with flat, eared surrounds to the openings. The northern Tarring House has two steep gables, three ground-floor casements, and a wider doorway between the northern pair with double iron doors, along with two first-floor windows. The southern Tarred Yarn House is wider and has similar architectural details, an altered central doorway with a 20th-century door, and two dated hoppers inscribed with "GR". The west side displays similar features. Connecting the two houses is a slightly later full-height archway with rusticated voussoirs and a brick inner soffit, cornice, and parapet.

Inside the Tarring House, the space is divided into three sections by diaphragm arches leading to brick vaults with iron doors for fireproofing. Notably, it contains a trap door and stone slab from 1793 in the basement. Historically, yarn was drawn from the White Yarn store by capstans in the Wheel House through the Tarring House before being transferred to the Tarred Yarn Store, where it was hung to dry. This process flow planning is an early example of efficiency in a naval dockyard context. Together with the White Yarn Store and Tarred Yarn Store, these buildings form one of the most complete tarring and yarn store complexes in a naval dockyard.

Local climate

Tarring and Wheel House (S 136) and Tarred Yarn House (S 137) sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 990 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 80% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 89% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 9 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 91% of listed buildings. Of these, 3 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Dockyard Wall Extending from East of Ropery Complex to East of Number 1 Slip Grade II 32 m
  2. White Yarn House (S 135) Grade II* 38 m
  3. East Ropery, Formerly Spinning House (S 132), and Attached Retaining Walls Grade I 51 m
  4. Tarred Yarn Store Grade II* 63 m
  5. Master Ropemakers House (S 103) and Attached Railings and Garden Wall Turncocks House Grade II 94 m
  6. Crown and Column Public House Grade II 146 m
  7. Devonport Guildhall and Attached Walls Grade I 178 m
  8. Joiners Shop (So 95) Grade II 178 m
  9. Devonport Column Grade I 183 m
  10. Master Ropemakers Office (S 97 and 98) Grade II 214 m