Portland House

Portland House is a residential care home, formerly a private house, dating from the early to mid-19th century in Ilfracombe. The house is built of rendered solid walls, with a slated mansard roof to the front, and a lower, slated pitched roof to the right. A chimney on the right gable features five red chimney pots, with the two front pots taller than the rest, while the lower wing has a red brick chimney with two cream chimney pots.

The building has a double-fronted, double-depth plan. The two-storey main block has a three-window front, with a prominent, gabled projection in the centre. This projection contains the front doorway, framed by a moulded architrave and panelled reveals, leading to a late 20th-century wooden glazed door. A single-storey, late 19th-century glazed wooden porch with a pitched roof and gable sits in front of the doorway. Above the porch is a round-arched window with barred sashes, the lower pane divided into three and the upper into six, all with margin and shaped panes. A round-arched gable window also has two-paned sashes. Flanking these are windows with six panes. Original glass remains in many windows, especially the second-storey ones. Two dormer windows are likely 20th-century additions. The single-storey range to the right has minimal detail. A late 20th-century porch with a panelled door and fanlight has been added.

The interior was not inspected for listing purposes, but a 1937 article in the Ilfracombe Chronicle described a "splendid example of an open continuous handrail staircase, with cut and bracketed shallow strings," along with good moulded plaster cornices decorated with small balls.