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Summary

Now W.H. Smith, 3 Regent Street was built as a library in 1815 by local newspaper publisher, Edward Croydon. Contemporary journals were available here and it was also where the arrivals list of visitors to the town was kept. A tablet above the door acknowledges its royal patronage.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1269055: 3, REGENT STREET

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX97SW/93
• Old Listed Building Ref (II): 461173

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• LIBRARY (Early, XIX - 1801 AD to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Pevsner, N., 1952, The Buildings of England: South Devon, 280 (Monograph). SDV336217.

A rather ostentatiously adorned house of circa 1815 with the inscription 'Royal Library', It was the publishing firm from which the first Teignmouth guide issued in 1817.

Bulley, J.A., 1956, Teignmouth as a Seaside Resort, 158, Pl.24 (Article in Serial). SDV350516.

Croydon's Public Library, Regent Street, Teignmouth. Opened in 1815. Books, music, etc. were on sale and there was a newspaper reading room. Now the property of W. H. Smith.

Devon County Council, 1975, Teignmouth Town Walk, 63 (Article in Serial). SDV352463.

Croydon's Public Library and Reading Room were contemporary journals and the Arrivals List of visitors were kept.

Department of Environment, 1983, Teignmouth, 43 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV338952.

Circa 1815. Formerly 'The Royal Library' and Croyden's publishing house from which the first Teignmouth guide was issued in 1817. Two storeys, first floor stuccoed. Parapet. First floor French windows with tall casements having Gothic glazing bars. Parapet and spaces between window have recessed panels. Modern shop front. E. Croyden's 1817 guide has a plate of the original front.

Pearson, A., 1985, Visitor's Guide to Teignmouth, South Devon, 98 (Monograph). SDV300876.

Cherry, B. + Pevsner, N., 1989, The Buildings of England: Devon, 799 (Monograph). SDV325629.

Three bays with a shallow central bow; eclectic details; colonettes within recessed panels, windows with intersecting glazing bars.

Wilson, V., 1994, Teignmouth Historic Walkabout (Pamphlet). SDV354751.

Built as a library in 1815 by a local newspaper publisher, Edward Croydon. A tablet above the door acknowledges its royal patronage.

Devon County Council + Teignbridge District Council, 1994, Teignmouth Townscape Assessment, 14 (Report - Assessment). SDV351926.

Ordnance Survey, 2012, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV348725.

English Heritage, 2012, National Heritage List for England (National Heritage List for England). SDV348729.

Library and publishing house, now a shop. Circa 1815, by WE Rolfe of London; circa 1900 shop front. Painted stucco, slate roof with three rectangular glazed lanterns. L-plan including a rear right wing. Exterior: two storeys; four bays, symmetrical three-window range with a fourth set-back range to the right. A panelled parapet is stepped up over the central bowed bay. The words 'The Royal Library' are raised in the central panel, a platband is below it. Full-height French windows to the first floor have margin panes and overlights with intersecting glazing bars, flanked by narrow recessed panels containing reeded shafts with moulded caps and plinths and pointed spikes to the tops. The bay to the right has one tall three-pane casement window with similar overlights. The shop front, with a moulded cornice to the fascia, is stepped forward and canted back to the right. Below the fascia is a double row of small-paned windows. Set-back 20th century double doors and plate-glass windows.
Interior: mostly lined with circa 1900 tongue-and-groove matchboarding with 20th century shop fittings in front. The simple oak stairs to rear left-of-centre (the lower flight is probably repositioned) with a moulded handrail and stick balusters lead to a rectangular balustered gallery, formerly the stairwell. Above it the ceiling is coved, crowned by a large rectangular lantern with plaster panels decorated with animals, rose and fleur-de-lys motifs, the glazing has diamond-shaped panes to the vertical sides and a hipped glass roof. A similar lantern to the front-right range has plain panels. The rear storage wing has a lean-to roof with matchboarded ceiling and walls.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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