Fairfax House

Fairfax House is a mid-19th century building located in Dartmouth, comprising shops with flats behind and above. It features a stucco exterior on a brick or stone base and has a slate roof. The building is designed in an L-shape, situated on a corner with an east-facing front onto Fairfax Place and a north-facing front onto Smith Street.

The structure has three storeys with attics, displaying a consistent modest Italianate style. The front facing Fairfax Place has two windows above and one window at the canted corner, while the return on Smith Street features four windows. The ground floor boasts an attractive Edwardian timber shop front, which includes a doorway at the left end, a two-bay shop front, another doorway at the canted corner, and a return bay onto Smith Street. The shop front has bottom-panelled glazed doors with glazing bars, and the bays are defined by panelled pilasters adorned with sunburst and shell motifs, topped with Corinthian capitals and faceted blocks above the fascia. The slightly bowed shop windows reach transom level and share a similar glazing pattern with the shop doors, which also have overlights.

At the rear of the shop on Smith Street, there are three round-headed openings with stucco quoins, including two windows and a rear doorway that features a fielded four-panel door beneath a plain fanlight. The upper windows have segmental-arch heads on the first floor and round heads on the second floor, all containing sashes without glazing bars. A deep stucco eaves cornice, richly moulded, is interrupted by a series of shaped timber brackets. The hipped roof includes a single gabled dormer on each front. The interior has not been inspected but is likely to be of interest.