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Summary

Conservative Club and Thomas Whitty House. Once the Axminster Carpet Factory, established in 1755 and closed in 1835.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1309926: CONSERVATIVE CLUB AND THOMAS WHITTY HOUSE
• Listed Building (II) 1309926: CONSERVATIVE CLUB AND THOMAS WHITTY HOUSE

Other References/Statuses

• Old Listed Building Ref (II): 87645

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FACTORY (XVIII to XIX - 1701 AD to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

de Villiers, S + Passmore, A., 08/2015, Thomas Whitty House, Axminster (Report - Watching Brief). SDV359330.

Archaeological recording was carried out by AC archaeology during renovation works to the front range of Thomas Whitty House.

C18 factory building. Once the Axminster Carpet Factory established in 1755 and closed in 1835. Large dressed stone building. Tarred slate roof with stone coping to gable ends. Situated on corner site with curved angle. Three storeys. Ten window range. Segmental arched openings mostly with three-light multi-pane windows with small central opening lights. All of second floor windows replaced with modern ones. The first floor six right hand windows are large sashes complete with glazing bars and in
segmental arch openings. Three doorways with large entablatures and Tuscan pilasters, the centre and right hand retain original flush panel doors. Right hand segmental arched carriageway.

The recording took place in the front range, where the current suspended floor and piers had been removed, and the walls stripped of finishes. The floor had consisted of floor boards laid on wooden joists supported on two dwarf walls aligned northwest-southeast. The floorboards and beams were modern. The exposed soil below this floor was firm yellow-brown clay. This contained no evidence of earlier floor, and had been reduced in level when the former wooden floor was inserted. Two upstands of soil above the general level probably supported dwarf walls.

The front and rear walls of the large room are primary to the mid 18th-century factory, and have arched openings, with the openings at the northwest end abutted by the northwest wall indicating that this is a later insertion, added when the factory building was subdivided. The walls are constructed of stonework laid in rough courses with rare patches of brickwork. The doorway at the northwest end of the front wall was blocked with stonework when the partition wall was inserted. In the rear wall the central two openings contain windows whilst those at each end are doorways. The northeast doorway was reduced in width when the northwest wall was inserted. The masonry between the two windows has been almost entirely rebuilt in brickwork to accommodate a fireplace that has since been blocked.

The southeast partition wall between this large room and the lobby also a late 18th-century partition. It is slightly curved on the northeast side. The central part is still rendered, probably over studwork, and contains a modern door, whilst the remainder of the wall is stonework.

The inserted northwest partition wall displays several phases of development. The earliest (late 18th-century) phase is stone masonry incorporating a central brick chimney stack with a brick arch over the fireplace. The wall's edges are marked by larger rectangular blocks that represent quoins for adjacent (former) openings. On the southwest side is an area of roughly coursed stonework, which probably represents the next (19th-century) phase of alterations, and is an infilling of the opening. On the northeast side of the fireplace a former narrower has been infilled with brickwork in panels divided by timbers; this may date to the early 20th century. The drill hall is a brick extension with its internal elevation rendered and/or painted black. It is open to the roof, and has exposed steel trusses with diagonal struts supporting wooden battens onto which closely-spaced wooden rafters are laid.

de Villiers, S + Passmore, A., 08/2015, Thomas Whitty House, Axminster (Report - Watching Brief). SDV359330.

Department of Environment, 1983, Axminster, 16 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV117703.

Fisher, J., 1999, East Devon Conservation Area Appraisals: Axminster, 4, 12 (Report - non-specific). SDV346144.

The former Axminster Carpet Factory, Silver Street (established in 1755 by Thomas Whitty) is a group of three storey buildings dating from after a fire of 1827. Built of large dressed limestone blocks, there are wide segmental windows with original panes on the lower floors. Three doors have large entablatures and Tuscan pilasters. Other details: Photograph.

Neophytou, M. + Goodwin, N., 2006, Archaeological Assessment of the Former Cattle Market Site, Axminster., 3 (Report - Assessment). SDV340798.

Ordnance Survey, 2011, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV346129.

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

Conservative Club and Thomas Whitty House, Silver Street (formerly listed as Conservative Club and Autec House and prior to this as Law Chambers and Conservative Club). 18th century factory building. Once the Axminster Carpet Factory established in 1755 and closed in 1835. Large dressed stone building. Tarred slate roof with stone coping to gable ends. Situated on corner site with curved angle. Three storeys. Ten window range. Segmental arched openings mostly with three-light multi-pane windows with small central opening lights. All of second floor windows replaced with modern ones. The first floor six right hand windows are large sashes complete with glazing bars and in segmental arch openings. Three doorways with large entablatures and Tuscan pilasters, the centre and right hand retain original flush panel doors. Right hand segmental arched carriageway. Date listed: 11th August 1950.

Ordnance Survey, 2015, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV357601.

Historic England, 2015-2016, NRHE to HER prototype, 476442 (Website). SDV359652.

System_UID Listed Building List Entry Legacy Uid 87645 HE NRHE Monument Inventory
System_UID South West Textile Mills Project Number 346 HE NRHE Monument Inventory
System_UID AREA STATUS LISTED BUILDING GRADE II HE Ref Data
System_UID OCCUPANCY OCCUPIED HE Ref Data
System_UID CONDITION ON SURVEY FAIR HE Ref Data
System_UID SURVEY ACCESS EXTERIOR ACCESS ONLY HE Ref Data

Summary description
Early to mid nineteenth century three storeyed building of dressed stone extending round angled corner with 3 bays to left of corner and 8 bays to right. The simple-pitched slate roof also extends round the corner it has coped verges and a small brick chimney at the left-hand end. All the openings have stone segmental heads and wooden multi-light frames to all the windows. The windows on the first and second storeys are wider and deeper with two wooden mullions. The right-hand end bay has a wide entrance. The right-hand gable end of the range is rendered with no openings. Some of the windows towards the right-hand side on second and third storey have had their sills lowered. Two of the first storey windows are blocked, with stone door-cases inserted. The three-bay front left of the corner was originally symmetrical, but a central wide entrance block and stone doorcase have been inserted against the right-hand jamb to form the present entrance to the conservative club.

Full description
None recorded

Sources
1 Devon at work : past and present 16
2 List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest District of East

Address(es)
Primary WHITTYS MILL SILVER STREET
Alternative CONSERVATIVE CLUB AND AUTEC HOUSE SILVER STREET
Alternative LAW CHAMBERS AND CONSERVATIVE CLUB SILVER STREET
Alternative CONSERVATIVE CLUB AND THOMAS WHITTY HOUSE SILVER STREET

Monument types, periods and evidence
POLITICAL CLUB Change of use by 1998 20TH CENTURY 1998 20TH CENTURY EXTANT BUILDING
TEXTILE MILL Built early-mid C19 1800 POST MEDIEVAL 1866 POST MEDIEVAL EXTANT BUILDING
WOOLLEN MILL Built early-mid C19 1800 POST MEDIEVAL 1866 POST MEDIEVAL EXTANT BUILDING
MULTI STOREY MILL Built early-mid C19 1800 POST MEDIEVAL 1866 POST MEDIEVAL EXTANT BUILDING
WEAVING MILL Built early-mid C19 1800 POST MEDIEVAL 1866 POST MEDIEVAL EXTANT BUILDING
CARPET MILL Built early-mid C19 1800 POST MEDIEVAL 1866 POST MEDIEVAL EXTANT BUILDING

Related monuments
None recorded

Related events
is related to 1197978 RCHME South West Textile Mills Project Desk Based Assessment


Related archives/objects
is related to RCH01/063 South West Textile Mills Project

Actors
None recorded


Metadata
When created: prior to 01-APR-1999
Created by Inventory

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4412 - Assessment of Former Cattle Market, Axminster
• EDV6890 - Archaeological Recording, Thomas Whitty House, Axminster, Devon (Ref: ACD1176/1/1)

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