4, The Quay

This is a former merchant’s house dating back to 1664, originally built for Robert Plumleigh. It has undergone minor alterations in the 18th and 19th centuries, with significant repairs undertaken between 1979 and 1983. The north and west sides are timber-framed, while the eastern party wall is constructed from stone rubble at ground floor level and timber framing above. The western party wall is also stone rubble and incorporates two stacks with original Dutch brick star chimneyshafts. The roof is covered in slate.

The original layout consisted of two rooms in depth with a central staircase, although this has since been altered. A former rear gallery and back block have been replaced by the adjacent building at No. 3 The Quay.

The three-storey west front, facing Fairfax Place, is jettied. End corbels support the jetties, and a datestone at first-floor level displays the date and Robert Plumleigh's initials. A late 19th-century shop front occupies the ground floor on the right, with a disused bottom-panelled glazed door. The first floor retains original decorative carpentry, including a moulded small-panel framing and an ornate oriel with Ionic pilasters carved with fruiting vines and a bracket depicting Samson and the Lion supporting the second-floor jetty’s dragon beam. The second floor also features original small-panel framing with oriels restored in 1983. The gable has plain bargeboards and a 20th-century casement, and is slate-hung. The south front, onto The Quay, was originally simpler and now has an irregular four-window front with three gabled dormers containing mostly 1983 casements, loosely based on the previous design. Decorative carved fascias and bargeboards, discovered in the attic in 1983, have been added to the south front.

Internally, while most original partitions have been removed, several original features remain, including original joist arrangements, hooded fireplaces with unusually ornate timber corbels and graffito plaster, and the original roof construction. The 1983 repairs were accompanied by an archaeological record, which is detailed in the Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society. This is a significant house in a very important location.