446 And 448, Babbacombe Road

This villa, originally one house but now divided into two separate properties at 446 and 448 Babbacombe Road, Torquay, was likely built in the 1855-1865 period. The building is plastered with a slate roof, and features stacks with rendered shafts topped with cornices.

The original plan consisted of a main, roughly rectangular block and a service wing to the left, which is now a separate property. The front facade is asymmetrical, with a 1:1:1 window arrangement. Each bay is slightly recessed from left to right, with the left-hand bay gabled towards the front. The design incorporates rusticated quoining, a molded platband, and a molded string course at sill level of the first floor. An eaves band is present, with paired brackets on the right-hand bay. A round-headed doorway, flanked by pilasters and blocks with vermiculated rustication, is centrally positioned. Ground-floor windows have plain architraves; the window on the right has a projecting cornice on brackets. The left and central first-floor windows are round-headed with pilasters, molded architraves and keyblocks. The first-floor window on the right has a molded, shouldered, eared architrave. All windows are 4-pane sash windows, with horizontal glazing bars.

The garden front on the right return features a substantial Edwardian conservatory. The conservatory’s end bays are octagonal, with steeply pitched pyramidal glazed roofs. The connecting range has round-headed windows and a gable in the centre. The service wing to the left has a simpler 3-bay front, with a platband and plate glass sashes. The interior has not been inspected but may contain features of architectural interest.