Watcombe Cottage is a Grade II listed building in the Torbay local planning authority area, England. First listed on 10 January 1975. House. 2 related planning applications.

Watcombe Cottage

WRENN ID
vacant-basalt-yarrow
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Torbay
Constituency
Torbay MP: Steve Darling (LD)
Country
England
Date first listed
10 January 1975
Type
House
Address
Watcombe Cottage, Teignmouth Road, TQ1 4SQ
OS grid reference
SX 920 674
Coordinates
50.49671, -3.52395
Source
Historic England listing

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

Description

Watcombe Cottage is a chapel that has been converted into a house. It was built around 1866 for Isambard Kingdom Brunel as part of his estate at Watcombe Park, which is now known as Brunel Manor. After Brunel's death, it was converted into a cottage, with an extension added to the west. The building is constructed of snecked stone rubble and features a slate roof with stone stacks. It has a rectangular plan and consists of one storey and an attic. The windows, which were added in the 1980s, fit into the original openings and include two original pointed-arched windows along with flat-arched windows and gabled half dormers. The doors date from the time of the conversion. The interior has not been inspected, and full access to the site was not possible during the review. Drawings for an elaborate altar piece by Brunel are preserved at Bristol University, but this work does not appear to have been completed.

Local climate

Watcombe Cottage receives an average of 870 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 64% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 83% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 11 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 90% of listed buildings. Of these, 4 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

Sign in or create a free account to unlock:

  • Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 2 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Create free account

Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.

Similar buildings

The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.

Nearby listed buildings

  1. Watcombe Hill House Grade II 79 m
  2. Lantern House Watcombe Lodge Grade II 84 m
  3. Washington House Grade II 321 m
  4. Balustrade to South Terrace of Brunel Manor Grade II 422 m
  5. 2 Flights of Steps with Balustrades to South of Brunel Manor Grade II 445 m
  6. Brunel Manor Grade II 460 m
  7. Gate Piers and Wall at Entrance to Brunel Manor Grade II 468 m
  8. Gate Piers at Entrance to Rock House Grade II 621 m
  9. Rock House Grade II 625 m
  10. Gazebo in the Garden to East of Rock House Grade II 730 m