479-503, BABBACOMBE ROAD

This is a terrace of thirteen houses on Babbage Road, Torquay, built around 1865 to 1875. The houses are stuccoed and have flat roofs hidden behind parapets. Rendered stacks rise above the roofline, with some retaining decorative cornices.

Each house is double-depth, with a rear service wing. The exterior of each house has a three-window front. A band runs along the eaves, below a deep projecting cornice and balustraded parapet; corbelled brackets are located at the party walls between the houses. The windows are 4-pane sashes with horizontal glazing bars; the window at number 497 has horizontal glazing bars. The front doors are 4-panel doors with a plain overlight, sheltered by a porch hood supported by consoles. A two-tier canted bay window is to the left, with a moulded cornice at the first floor level, and a sill band to the first floor windows. The ground floor window to the right has pilaster strips and a projecting cornice supported by brackets.

Some of the houses retain staircases with turned balusters, and other interesting features may remain within. The terrace possesses group value and is a complete example of its type and date.