Riverside

BARNSTAPLE

SS5632 LITCHDON STREET 684-1/5/197 (South West side) 31/08/88 No.23 Riverside

GV II

House, now health authority day centre. Probably c1839, with minor early additions at either side; late C20 addition at rear. Rendered, solid walls, probably of stone. Hipped, slated roof, 2 small rendered chimneys on left side wall. 4-square with 2 main rooms at the rear, overlooking the garden. 2 smaller rooms, with entrance hall between front and back rooms on left side; small room opposite on right side. 2 storeys with semi-basement; C20 addition single-storeyed. 3-window range to Litchdon Street, the centre windows in a slight projection finished above eaves-level, with a pediment-like gable. Semi-basement rusticated with segmental-headed window; right window blind, left window louvred. Upper storeys flanked by giant panelled pilasters. Windows plain with 6-paned sashes, except for lower sash of middle first-floor window, which has 9 panes. Round-arched doorway with Doric portico in centre of ground storey, approached by flight of 7 stone steps; 3-panelled door, fanlight with radial glazing bars. Moulded eaves-board. Low projection to left of front, filling the space between this house and No.22 (qv) has round-arched doorway with sunk, oblong panel above. Similar projection to right has blind round-arched panel with sash window above, the latter having 2 upright glazing bars forming margin-panes. Garden front (visible from Taw Vale) is without rustication, but has the same giant pilasters. Segmental-headed window with small panes to left of semi-basement. Left-hand window in each of the upper storeys has sashes with 9 panes below and 6 above. All 3 second-storey windows have delicate iron guard-rails. Remainder altered; canted bay window to right of ground storey. 2 casement windows to right of 2nd storey. INTERIOR: in 1986, entrance hall and stair compartment had modillioned cornices enriched with flowers and egg-and-dart. Between them an elliptical arch springing from pilasters with Grecian detail. First-floor landing with similar finishings. Open-well wooden stair with cast-iron balustrade voluted at the foot; plain upright bars alternating with decorated open-work panels. Rooms had moulded cornices (rooms on ground-floor garden front with dividing wall removed); enriched cornice and chandelier boss in left-hand 1st-floor room on garden side. The house is probably contemporary with the other 2 in this group, Nos 21 & 22 (qv), both built in 1839. All 3 are shown on Wood's map of 1843. (Wood John: Map of Barnstaple (filed with Tithe Map): 1843-).

Listing NGR: SS5606232792