Colyford Filling Station

Colyford Filling Station

This filling station is built of brick and block with rendered walls above a brick plinth, designed to give an impression of cob construction. The roof is tiled with timber elements both structural and decorative, and the principal windows retain their timber frames.

The building comprises an enclosed block to the south, formerly containing shop and office space, with a forecourt to the north. Both areas are covered by a roof that rests at the front on four chamfered and stopped timber piers standing on brick plinths. The forecourt is open on three sides, with the roof above it ceiled with timber joists.

A gable with decorative timber-framing breaks the front of the pyramidal roof. The enclosed block has a central door with a glazed panel above and a recessed panel below, flanked by two horizontal display windows. Each window consists of a large pane of glass with a transom light above containing original green and brown textured glass. A clock hangs above the door, bought from a garage in Exeter and not original to the site. Toilet facilities stand at the west and east ends, each with a boarded door and narrow windows to either side; the western windows have been replaced with metal-framed examples. The rear wall formerly had two ground-floor windows and a long horizontal window lighting the attic; only one ground-floor window now remains, reduced in size. Pipes for ventilation to the underground tank rise against the west and rear walls. A low pavement originally stretched along the front from either side of the door and around the corners to the washrooms; it has been truncated at the east end by construction of a new museum building. Painted concrete balls originally marked the corners of the pavement, of which two remain. Five 1950s Avery Hardoll 598 petrol pumps stand between the front posts, two original to the site, painted with replacement plastic globes advertising different petroleum companies.

Internally, the enclosed section was originally divided into two small showrooms at the front with an office to the rear; the attic was accessed by a staircase against the centre of the back wall. Internal partitions have been removed, leaving the space open, and the staircase has been relocated to the west wall. An opening has been cut through to the gents' toilet, originally accessed only from outside, whilst the ladies' remains externally accessed. Both washrooms retain six-panelled doors and original washbasins, though the toilets have been replaced. The tall attic space served as storage; the roof structure remains intact with a glazed gap in the tiles to front and rear.

To the east stands a museum building dating from 2003, its design closely following that of the filling station; the two are joined only by timber gates.