5-8 Free Cottages

5-8 Free Cottages is a block of four cottages built in 1861, funded by William Gibbs as part of a group providing 42 units for the elderly. The cottages are constructed of red brick with painted stone dressings and feature slate roofs, rendered chimney stacks, and cast iron rainwater goods, all designed in a Tudor style.

The cottages are situated on a bluff overlooking the River Exe, grouped with a school and church also funded by Gibbs. The layout consists of four units with paired front doors in the center and entrances on the sides for the outer units. There are single-storey service blocks added at the rear.

The exterior is two storeys with a symmetrical four-bay front. The outer bays are gabled and project slightly forward, featuring deep eaves and verges supported by brackets. The original openings are made of painted stone with quoined jambs, and the windows are two and three-light transomed mullioned types with hoodmoulds and 20th-century glazing. A central gabled porch has a stone Tudor arched doorway with plank front doors, and similar porches are found on the sides.

The interior has not been inspected but may contain interesting features. Historically, Mount Dinham was purchased by John Dinham to prevent it from being used as a fairground site. William Gibbs, a guano merchant and banker from Exeter, is commemorated by an effigy in St Michael's Church nearby. This site is part of an important Victorian complex of philanthropic buildings designed together.