Cliffden

Cliffden is a house located on Dawlish Road in Teignmouth, possibly dating from the mid-18th century, with significant remodeling and enlargement in the mid and late 19th century and 20th century. The building features painted stucco and a steeply-pitched slate roof that is hipped on the original block. It has a moulded eaves cornice and a late 19th-century segmental-arched dormer with paired 2/2-pane sash windows at both the front and rear. The later parts of the house have a double-pitched and parapeted roof, along with late 19th-century moulded axial and ridge stacks.

The house has a double-depth plan, with a long left wing added in the 19th century and a forward right wing from the 20th century. It stands two storeys tall and has a seven-window range. The windows are mostly 20th-century horned sash windows, some with 2/2 panes and others with 4/2 panes, and many have louvred shutters. There is no door on the original block; instead, a 19th-century moulded hood on brackets covers paired 3-panel doors to the left. The main entrance is located in an enclosed prostyle porch that features pilasters, a cornice, and a parapet.

The left return of the house has a semicircular central bay with a swept canopy leading to a first-floor balcony above a wide curved verandah, which has a triglyph frieze and French windows. This section is primarily from the mid-19th century, with some alterations made in the mid-20th century.

Inside, the house was altered in the late 19th century in a flamboyant High Victorian style. The ground floor includes oak 6-panel doors, elaborate friezes—one made of copper depicting mythical beasts and another of plaster—along with ornate fireplaces, including one in the Jacobean style featuring Ionic columns and scrollwork on the overmantel. The galleried entrance hall boasts an open-well, open-string staircase with turned balusters and square newels, as well as a panelled plaster ceiling.