Summer House About 290 Metres South East Of Sharpham

This summer house, located about 290 metres southeast of Sharpham, dates from around 1770 to 1780 and is likely designed by the architect Sir Robert Taylor, contemporary with Sharpham House. It was extended in the late 19th century. The structure is rendered, probably from stone rubble, with a flat roof concealed behind a parapet. The late 19th-century extension features a gable-ended slate roof with deep eaves and a side stack with a brick shaft.

The original building has an octagonal single-cell plan with a doorway at the front and a stack on the left side. There is another doorway at the back that leads into the late 19th-century two-storey rectangular extension, which is at a lower level and includes a balcony overlooking the River Dart.

The exterior of the original building is a single-story octagon with a parapet and a moulded wooden modillion cornice. The doorway on the northwest front features a moulded wooden doorcase with a pulvinated frieze and dentilled cornice, along with an 18th-century six-panel door, approached by stone steps. The south and east sides of the octagon, which overlook the river, have sash windows; the east side has vertical glazing, while the south side has a later replacement.

The late 19th-century two-storey extension is at a lower ground level, with its gable end facing the river showcasing deeply projecting verges on timber braces, a finial, and a balcony with a wooden balustrade supported by timber cantilevers.

Inside the original part, the octagonal room remains virtually unaltered, featuring a moulded cornice with a moulded plaster acanthus centerpiece on the ceiling. The walls have a moulded dado rail, and there is an 18th-century wooden chimneypiece with a moulded architrave and cornice. Opposite the fireplace is a cupboard with 18th-century fielded panel double doors. The entrance on the northwest side has a moulded wooden architrave, and on the opposite side, steps lead down to panelled double doors that were originally an external doorway but now open into the late 19th-century extension.