Gas Retort House, St Audrie'S Holiday Centre

ST14SW WEST QUANTOXHEAD CP

5/208 Gas Retort House, St. Audries Holiday Centre

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GV II

Gas retort house, now agricultural building. Circa 1855. Architect probably John Norton. Sampford Brett red sandstone random rubble, brick and Bath stone dressings, double Roman tiled roof, louvred hood centre left, square brick stack rising from stone base in South East corner. L-plan, 2 cell block lying East - West, single cell North wing. Gothic style. Single storey, 1:2 bays; gabled North wing unglazed rose window, right return segmental doorway damaged right jamb, no doors, North front segmental headed long 2-light casements partly boarded, outer bays left and right centre segmental headed stable door, damaged rectangular light above to right, segmental headed double doors similar right. Right return, (West) fronting remains of gas holder (qv), a quatrefoil opening in gable end, 2-light segmental headed mullioned window, wooden cusped tracery heads. Interior: left hand room, at time of survey, (October 1983) has only a small segmental headed opening into chimney visible, louvred opening in roof in poor condition; to left, any surviving features obscured by agricultural machinery. This gas retort house was built to supply St. Audries, now a school (qv), and is one of the earliest estate gasworks, Welsh coal for the gasworks was landed at the quay, now vanished, at the end of the slip (qv) about half a mile to the forth, Listed primarily for historic interest. In poor condition at time of-survey, (October 1983). (VCH Somerset, Vol.5 forthcoming; Sirouard, The Victorian Country House, 1979).

Listing NGR: ST1040442808