The Quay From Royal Britannia Hotel On West To Pier Hotel On East Including Old Quay Head

The Quay, Ilfracombe

The quay extends across the north side of the harbour from the Royal Britannia Hotel on the west to the Pier Hotel on the east, with a pier known as the Old Quay Head projecting at right-angles from the eastern end.

The quay dates from the 17th century or earlier. It was widened in the mid-19th century, possibly more than once. The pier was partly rebuilt and enlarged in 1760 and again between 1824 and 1829.

The structures are built of local slatestone rubble with coping of dressed stone, probably limestone. The east side of the pier is faced with large, squared blocks of limestone, rising to form a parapet wall finished at the northern end with a round coping. The quay now has a mid or late 20th-century parapet wall of stone. The surface is covered with tarmac, with a pavement along its north side.

At the western end, the quay wall curves to form a slip running down into the harbour. This may be a later addition, indicated by a straight joint where the curve begins. Some earlier coping stones appear to have been re-used at the top of the slip, though the surface is mostly composed of dressed blocks of hard slatestone polished by the sea. At the north end of the pier, the east wall is recessed to accommodate a steep flight of stone steps. At the south end, also on the east side, a long shallow flight of stone steps projects, curving towards the north-east.

Close to these steps, the parapet wall has a semi-circular projection on the west side bearing a slate tablet inscribed with details of the pier's construction and enlargement. The inscription records that the pier was originally built by the Bourchiers, Barons of Fitzwarine and Earls of Bath. It was partly rebuilt, lengthened and enlarged in 1760 by Sir Bourchier Wrey, Baronet. A further enlargement was commenced in 1824 and completed in 1829 by Sir Bourchier Palk Wrey, Baronet.

Historically, the Bourchiers acquired the borough manor of Ilfracombe around 1435. John Bourchier, Lord Fitzwarren, was created Earl of Bath in 1536. The last Bourchier, Henry, 5th Earl of Bath, died without issue in 1654, after which the estate passed to Sir Chichester Wrey through his marriage to Anne, third daughter of the 4th Earl.

The quay was widened by the Wreys after 1870, though comparison of maps from 1862 and 1869 suggests at least one earlier widening. Early illustrations show the pier as remodelled by Sir Bourchier Wrey with a battlemented parapet and a small tower at the end. These features lasted until at least 1805 but were gone by 1829, when the pier acquired most of its present appearance.

Ilfracombe was a port of some significance by the 13th century, and it is possible that a medieval quay survives, buried beneath later additions.