Mayflower Court

Mayflower Court is a large house, likely dating from the late 18th century, which has been altered in the mid-19th century and more recently. It is now used as shops and flats. The house is constructed of rendered walls with a slate roof, and it has rebuilt brick chimneys on the gable ends. It follows a double-fronted, double-depth plan, with a central staircase at the rear of the building. The house is four storeys high and has three windows across the front, with the central windows being two lights wide. The ground floor has been significantly altered in the late 20th century. A wide central doorway is flanked by fluted pilasters, which are probably 20th-century replicas, and is topped by an original triangular pediment decorated with key-patterns. The doorway now leads into an open lobby with doors to the shops and flats above; a 1975 description recorded a pair of six-panelled doors. Either side of the doorway are late 20th-century display windows. The upper floors have box-framed sash windows. The second and third-floor windows are two-paned with horns, while the older windows on the fourth floor are smaller, with three panes per sash and no horns. The middle second- and third-storey windows have segmental arches, which were previously described as having a 'pilaster frame'. A deep eaves-cornice is supported by thick, moulded brackets. The rear wall retains original mullioned windows with glazing bars in the second and fourth storeys. The right-hand, or north-east, fourth-storey window appears to have original crown glass in the right-hand light, with 18 panes in wooden glazing bars. In the right side wall of the fourth storey is a small, old window offering a view of the sea. The ground-floor shops and fourth-storey rooms have been completely altered, while the interior of other rooms has not been inspected. The original dogleg staircase rises from the ground floor to the fourth storey, featuring thin square balusters, shaped step-ends, and a handrail ramped up over column-newels. The relatively modest character of the staircase suggests it may have originally been designed for use as offices or a rooming-house.