Howden Court Hotel

Howden Court Hotel is a large detached villa, now functioning as a hotel, built around 1865 to 1875, with a 20th-century addition to the south-west. The building is stuccoed with a hipped slate roof and features stacks with stuccoed shafts, showcasing an Italianate style. The plan is a deep L-shape, with the main rooms located to the south and the entrance on the east side, while a service wing is positioned to the north, with a north-east belvedere at the angle between the main block and the wing.

The exterior has two and three storeys, characterized by deep eaves supported by modillion brackets and a dentil course below. The chimney shafts have faceted panels topped with modillion cornices. Most windows are fitted with 4-pane sashes that include horizontal glazing bars. The entrance elevation consists of two bays, with an additional bay for the belvedere that is set back to the right. The projecting centre bay is topped with a pedimented gable featuring a wreath. A Doric porch with paired columns, an entablature, and a modillion cornice leads to a balustraded parapet above the first-floor balcony. The round-headed first-floor window has a moulded architrave and keyblock, flanked by paired Composite columns.

The left-hand bay features an outer pilaster that is rusticated at the ground floor, with a cornice supported by modillion brackets at the first-floor level and paired Composite pilasters above. This bay has a shallow projecting stack with rusticated quoins at the ground floor and panelled decoration at the first floor. To the right, a three-storey belvedere mirrors the same style, with the second stage corbelled out on brackets, and a triplet of round-headed second-floor windows that have moulded architraves and keyblocks, along with balustraded balconies. The other elevations of the villa maintain this architectural style.

The interior has not been inspected but is likely to contain original features. Howden Court Hotel is very similar in layout and style to the Allerdale Hotel, the neighbouring villa to the west, and together they represent two of the grander late 19th-century Italianate villas in Torquay.