Walls And Quays On All Four Sides Of Harbour Extending From New Pier To Kings Quay

Harbour walls and quays on all four sides of Brixham Harbour, extending from the New Pier to King's Quay.

The harbour comprises several structures built over nearly two centuries. The Eastern Quay and King's Quay were built by 1781; the New Pier was constructed in 1803–4; the Victoria Embankment dates to 1897; and the Southern Quay was built around 1930, with an extension linking it to King's Quay added in the 1980s.

The walls are predominantly constructed of squared Devonian limestone rubble, of particularly high quality at the King's Quay. The Eastern Quay is of much rougher rubble construction, with large projecting boulders in the lower part and stones laid on edge above. Copings on 18th and early 19th-century walls are of Devonian limestone slabs, sometimes disguised by a coating of cement. Late 19th-century copings are of granite; those on the Southern Quay are of cement. The section of quay linking the Southern and King's Quays is wholly of concrete. Several flights of steps lead down to the water; the earlier ones are of Devonian limestone and the later ones of granite.

The harbour is roughly square, with its entrance partly closed by the New Pier on the west and the King's Quay on the east. The Eastern Quay, which projects at an angle from the western side of the harbour, is believed to be an 18th-century addition. An earlier quay projected a little way south of it until the 19th century; it is here that William of Orange is believed to have landed in 1688, with 'King William's steps' marked at its western end on a plan of 1781. The southern end of the harbour was originally a long, shelving cobbled ramp until reconstructed in 1897 as the Victoria Embankment. The original quays appear to have been on the west side. The fish market was formerly located here until a new one was built on the north side of the New Pier in 1971 and 1991.

The New Pier is protected on its seaward side by a tall stone rubble wall with a raised walk paved with slabs of Devonian limestone on the harbour side. At its western end is a stone tablet commemorating Mr John Matthews for his spirited conduct in causing the pier to be built. The foundation stone was laid in 1803, and the pier was built with subscriptions from the inhabitants of Brixham; the builder was Mr John Kitt. At its eastern end is the short round rendered base of the harbour light. Fixed to the wall below it is a plaque commemorating the landing of the Duke of Clarence here in 1828, which is separately listed. On the pier itself are five solid Devonian limestone painted bollards with rounded tops.

At the eastern end of the Victoria Embankment is a boat-slip with a surface of granite setts. Fixed to the wall alongside it is a limestone plaque commemorating the laying of its foundation stone on 22 June 1897.

King's Quay is marked on the plan of 1781 as 'The Wharf constructed on the Deer Rock'. It was then used for watering HM Navy ships via an elaborate series of pipes running from a reservoir on the site now occupied by Brixham Town Hall.