Seawood Hotel Including Area Railings

The Seawood Hotel, formerly a detached villa, was likely built around 1843. It stands high above North Walk, set back on a terrace and close to a rock face. The building is symmetrical, with cross-gabled end wings that project slightly from the central section, although it appears as a semi-detached pair, it was originally built as a single residence. The original layout included a long hall with a lateral staircase, and a central front parlour spanning two bays; a secondary rear stair was originally contained within a projecting turret, but replaced in the early 20th century by an internal staircase serving the upper two floors.

The building has two storeys, attic space, and a basement, with a 1:2:1 window arrangement on the front elevation. The top floor has arched lights in the end gables and central gabled dormers, while the first floor features sash windows with vertical bars and margin panes. Ground-floor windows have French windows opening onto steps leading down from the terrace. Basement windows are recessed within deep reveals and are also sash windows. A single-bay return gable on the left side mirrors the front elevation's fenestration, with a rear gabled wing including a segmental-headed dormer. The right return is similar, with a rear doorway featuring an original panelled door within a pilaster doorcase.

The roofs are steeply pitched with decorative bargeboards. Windows are set within raised rendered surrounds with keystones and projecting jamb stones on stone cills. Alternating quoins highlight the corners of the end pavilions. Chimneys are narrow and deep, with terracotta pots, situated on either side of the central section, and are topped by a rendered frieze band. A low stone coping carries cast-iron decorative railings, which enclose the space on three sides; these are full-height balustrades alongside steps leading to the ground-floor windows and revert to lower railings elsewhere.

The interior retains many original details and fittings, including most of the four-panelled doors within architraves, and rooms with moulded and embellished cornices of varied patterns. Windows remain shuttered. The central room features a painted marble fireplace, and the dining room (at the east end) has a marble fireplace with a frieze depicting roses and grapes, both with cast-iron grates. The long, straight-flight staircase features fine turned balusters, a hardwood handrail, and an open scrolled string. A centrally positioned arched window on the staircase has tinted and etched glass. The basement was not inspected. The Seawood Hotel is a late example of Regency picturesque architecture and retains a significant amount of original detailing, notable within a series of hotels along North Walk.