Lower Almshouses Including Front Garden Wall And Gate Piers

The Lower Almshouses, located on Pilton Street in Barnstaple, were built in 1860 and consist of a row of six almshouses made from stone rubble with a slated roof. They feature four stone rubble chimneys with moulded cornices and various types of decorative pots, some of which are spiked.

The almshouses are arranged in three pairs, each pair sharing a door, and are positioned at right angles to the street. In front of the almshouses is a garden enclosed by a curtilage wall and gate piers along the street. The building is one storey with a garret in a Tudor style and has a six-window range. The doorways are framed with chamfered surrounds, pyramid stops, and cranked heads, leading to double plank doors. The ground-storey windows consist of three lights with chamfered stone mullions and relieving arches, while the garret windows are dormer gables featuring two-light mullioned windows that match those below. The barge-boards are moulded with collar beams, and the inner edges are cut to form a trefoil shape. All windows have three panes with metal glazing bars.

The gable wall facing the street has a projecting chimney-breast, which is stepped on the left side. Attached to this chimney-breast are two corbels supporting a stone plaque that reads: "THESE ALMSHOUSES WERE REBUILT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE CHARITY BY THE UNDERMENTIONED FEOFFEES. A.D. 1860," followed by six names, including the Reverend William C. Hall. To the right of the chimney-breast, there is a single-light window with a chamfered surround on each storey, the ground-storey window featuring a relieving arch. The gable is finished with stone coping and has kneelers at the front. The interiors have not been inspected.

The subsidiary features include a low stone rubble garden wall with chamfered coping and square gate piers topped with pyramidal caps.