Cary Estate Office

The Cary Estate Office is an office building located in Torquay, likely constructed in 1859 when it became the Devon and Cornwall Bank, and it became the Cary Estate Office in 1908. The building features rock-faced breccia that is brought to course, polished pink granite, terracotta, and Ham Hill dressings, topped with a slate roof that is rounded at the north end and gabled to the south. It has brick chimney stacks with cornices and is designed in a primarily Italianate style with some Rococo details.

The building is situated on a prominent corner site, facing north up Fleet Street, and has a tall and narrow structure with three storeys and an attic. The rounded north end has five bays, while each side has four bays. The bays are divided by pilasters that are rusticated on the ground and first floors and panelled on the second floor. There is a projecting cornice at the first-floor level, platbands on the second floor, and a dentil eaves cornice. The large ground-floor windows have moulded architraves with rounded upper corners and 20th-century glazing with glazing bars. Other windows are fitted with two-pane sashes. The first-floor windows feature swan-necked pediments and moulded architraves, while the second-floor windows are flanked by pilasters.

The centre front bay has a segmental pediment over the first-floor window and a pedimented dormer above the eaves cornice. To the left of the curved end, there is a flat-roofed single-storey bay with pilasters flanking a two-tier plate glass window. The large round-headed doorway on the east end is located in the wider end bay, featuring a moulded architrave and keystone, with paired windows above. The rear end wall is stuccoed and has first-floor access to a three-bay single-storey flat-roofed block at the south end, which includes a decorative 1830s anthemia cast-iron balustrade. The interior has not been inspected but may retain features of interest. The Cary family, along with the Palk family, played a significant role in the development of Torquay in the 19th century.