39 And 41, Gestridge Road

The houses at 39 and 41 Gestridge Road, Kingsteignton, are a pair of dwellings, believed to have originally been a single property. They date from the early 19th century. Number 41 is constructed of stone and cob, rendered and with a blocked-out appearance, and has a gabled slate roof terminating at the right end, with an end stack. Number 39, adjoining at the south, is colourwashed and rendered with a slate roof gabled at the left end and a left-end stack.

Number 41 has a double-depth plan, arranged with two rooms wide, and principal heated rooms on either side of a central stair hall and entrance. A rear left wing extends to form an L-shaped plan. Number 39's plan is more complex: it adjoins Number 41 for one window bay with a shared roofline and front elevation. It then continues as a separate building under a higher roofline, slightly projecting forward from Number 41 and incorporating a cart entrance at the left, below the left-hand first-floor room. A three-storey projection, with a separate roof, is situated at the right end of Number 39, with a front entrance in the centre. The two dwellings are thought to have originally been a farmhouse, although the three-storey block of Number 39 resembles a fragment of a substantial 19th-century villa.

Number 41 is two storeys high and features a symmetrical three-bay front. It has a six-panel front door, with the top panels glazed, and a central entrance porch with Hay Tor Tuscan columns featuring elongated capitals, which may be reused. The porch roof forms a balcony with an ornamental iron railing. Twelve-pane sash windows are present throughout, with the centre first-floor window adapted as a doorway leading onto the balcony. The interior has not been inspected.

Number 39 is two storeys with a three-storey front projection gabled to the front. The left-hand side has a cart entrance and a dentil eaves cornice. A 20th-century window is situated above the cart entrance, within the original embrasure. The three-storey projection has a first-floor platband, above which is a square-headed recess on the front wall and returns, framing the first and second floors. A central stone Tuscan porch supports a balcony with short vase-shaped stone balusters. A 20th-century glazed door occupies what was likely the original doorway. A first-floor glazed doorway leads onto the balcony, where a 20th-century two-leaf glazed door is fitted, but featuring an original round-headed fanlight with original glazing bars and margin glazing. A round-headed second-floor sash window features margin glazing. A 20th-century single-storey lean-to adjoins the right return of the projection. A single first-floor twelve-pane sash window is located at the right end of the range. The interior has not been inspected.

Number 41 retains a very complete front elevation with a good porch, while alterations to the glazing of Number 39 have not diminished the striking composition of the pair amongst the later houses in Gestridge Road.