6 And 7, Brookdale Avenue

A pair of semi-detached houses located on Brookdale Avenue, Ilfracombe, built in 1883 by William Morgan Robbins. The houses are constructed of red brick with decorative bands of yellow brick, featuring bay windows of wood and, likely, cast-iron. The roofs are slate-covered, with crested red ridge tiles and finials. The slates on the left side of number 6 are tarred, while those on number 7 are asbestos. Two brick chimneys are situated on the shared party wall, adorned with elaborate brickwork caps and projecting brick courses. There are two chimney pots at the front and five at the rear; number 7 also has a plain red brick chimney to the right of the closet wing.

The houses are two storeys with garrets, exhibiting a striking mirrored design with gable-facing fronts featuring full-height bay windows that rise to half hips. These bay windows have four lights, with moulded shafts between and flanking the lights. Decorative panels, carved with quatrefoils and circles, are situated above the lights, and each storey is defined by a shallow projecting cornice resting on ornate brackets, crested with small iron flowers. Smaller canted wooden bays of four lights are incorporated into the gable windows, also with cornices and hipped roofs. Plain bargeboards with circular cutouts are found flanking the gable bays. All windows are simple sashes.

The closet wing of number 6 contains the front entrance, leading to a door consisting of four shaped panels, the top two glazed, with three smaller shaped glazed panels above. Flanking the door are columns mirroring those on the bay windows, alongside side lights. A five-paned fanlight is positioned above the door. The upper storey includes a tall, narrow sash window with margin panes of coloured glass, topped by a flat roof. At number 7, the front door, similar in design to number 6, is situated within a slight projection in the side wall. A tall sash window above it also features coloured glass margin panes, while the ground storey of the closet wing has a plain sash window, with the surrounding brick now painted. In the angle above, a panelled, wooden closet projects, with small square windows at the top and a steeply pitched slated roof. Dormer windows with gabled bargeboards, crested ridge tiles, and simple sashes are present on the roofs of both houses, with an additional dormer on the closet wing of number 7.

The rear elevations, visible from the back road, are plain, featuring segmental-headed sash windows with a single upright glazing bar per sash. The interiors were not inspected. Brookdale Avenue was developed by William Morgan Robbins in 1881, on land purchased the same year, as documented in various records, including title deeds, local newspapers, planning registers, and directories.