28, Fairfax Place

28 Fairfax Place is a former merchant's house that has been converted into a shop with flats above. It dates from around 1660, although some parts may date back to as early as 1585. The building has undergone various alterations in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. It features mixed construction with party walls made of stone rubble, a front of plastered brick, and a rear that may be timber-framed. There is a stack in the left party wall with a 17th-century Dutch brick chimney shaft and a slate roof.

The building is arranged end onto the street and is two rooms deep, with a side passage along the right party wall. It stands three storeys high with an attic and has a narrow frontage with a one-window range. The shop front is recessed, and there is a doorway to the side passage at the right end. Each end of the building features fluted posts from a late 19th-century shop front and a contemporary fascia above. The upper part of the building is finished in late 18th or 19th-century stucco, which may cover earlier 18th-century brick or 17th-century timber framing. The stucco is lightly blocked out to resemble ashlar, with a plat band at the second-floor level. Each floor has a central 16-pane sash window, and there is a timber modillion eaves cornice. The hipped roof includes a late 19th-century gabled dormer.

The interior has not been inspected but is likely to be of interest. Historically, this side of Fairfax Place was developed after the 1580s on land reclaimed from the estuary, and Fairfax Place/Lower Street became one of the main trading streets in Dartmouth, linking the old quay at Bayards Cove with the New Quay near the present Boat Float.