Government House

Government House is a large building dating from the 18th century, comprising two distinct sections: a main three-story block with a hipped roof and a lower two-story block attached at an angle to the northeast. The exterior walls are rendered, and the roofs are covered in pantiles with sprocket eaves. A large, projecting lateral chimney is located on the rear elevation of the northeast block.

The main section features an arched entrance with a small-pane glazed door to the left and a 12-pane casement window to the right. The first floor has two 12-pane sash windows, and the second floor has similar windows with a narrower 8-pane window situated between them; all are fitted with external slatted wooden shutters. The rear elevation, facing the estuary, also has shuttered sash windows and a central, applied baroque cartouche between the floors. A tall gable of bellcote type rises from the roofline of this rear elevation, though it lacks a bell arch and instead features a segmental iron balcony.

The northeast section has a casement window on the ground floor and a shuttered sash window above, consistent with the main block. The left-hand (northeast) corner is rounded. The rear elevation is asymmetrical, featuring a small-pane glazed door to the left of the central chimney and 12-pane sash windows to the right and above. Further entrances and sash windows are located to the right of the chimney. A faux second floor is created with trompe l'oeil windows. An advanced, parapetted external staircase with an open loggia to the first floor extends to the right, overlapping this rear elevation, and provides access to the northeast block via a glazed door within the loggia. This staircase continues as a short section of parapetted wallwalk with descending steps that connect to a campanile to the northeast.

The main block connects to The Dolphin via a loggia bridge at first floor level, incorporating twin arches and wooden Salomonic columns facing north. A short balustraded balcony leads to this bridge from Government House at the rear, where a life-sized, polychromed figure of William Shakespeare is positioned, leaning over the parapet and facing the estuary.

On the east (seaward) side, The Dolphin has three stories and features a tall, gable-like structure with a round-headed arch and balcony, surmounted by a figure of a stork. The loggia on the south side of The Dolphin presents a bust of Shakespeare leaning on the balustrade and looking out to sea.