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Summary

Carriage arch and flanking buildings to the former Newton Abbot Hospital. Originally part of the workhouse building 1836-9. The carriage entrance is now glazed.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1257024: NEWTON ABBOT HOSPITAL CENTRAL ENTRANCE BLOCK ATTACHED WALLS AND PIERS

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• BUILDING (Built, XIX - 1836 AD to 1839 AD (Between))

Full description

Passmore, A. J. + Jones, P., 05/2013, Former Newton Abbot Hospital, Devon, Results of Historic Building Recording (Report - Survey). SDV351393.

This building was the entrance block to the 19th-century workhouse, and would have housed administrative rooms either side of a central covered walkway. Typically, these would have included a boardroom and offices on one side and a chapel on the other side. It is mainly of one storey height, but the western block was heightened to two storeys in the late 19th-century. All the walls are of rubble construction with stucco rendering. The north front is dominated by a tall centrally-placed former carriageway, now converted to an entrance foyer, with a semi-circular arch in high-relief ashlar framed by plain pilasters supporting an entablature under a pediment. To either side of the carriageway, lower level bays extend to end blocks. Each block is of two bays with individual tall half-round windows to
each bay. All are embellished with identical detailing to those of the carriageway block.
The interior has been much altered and much of the original fabric is obscured by later partitions and suspended ceilings. However, the original floor plan can be deduced. Inside the western part of the building there was a primary group of three moderately sized-rooms, with a fourth smaller room projecting into the yard beyond. All were tall with some having either a primary or later phased source
of heating from now blocked fireplaces within the long internal walls or singularly from a corner fireplace in the west room. With the exception of multi-paned large half-round windows mostly within the north and south elevations, very limited evidence of primary fixtures and fittings is apparent. A small number of later, early 20th-century windows, mainly large double-pane sash types, have been inserted into the primary wall fabric. Throughout, later internal openings relating to late 19th-and early 20th-century alterations have been either blocked up or reduced in height, many retaining flat mouldings or stop chamfered surrounds. Many of the square overlights to the doorways have been removed, but a peculiar timber trellis to one doorway remains replacing an original pane.
Within the eastern part of the building a number or primary rooms canbe identified. Again, these were tall and, although less defined, were provided with some source of heat. The most prominent of these rooms was at the very east end of the range; it was a lofty (formerly large rectangular) room with a plain curved cornice. Located at the southern end of the room is a pair of original half-round windows that formerly flanked a now-blocked contemporary square-headed doorway. To the side of
the eastern window is a primary window later blocked when a small store was built against its external face during the mid 20th century. A circular timber within the ceiling may indicate the position of a central louvre. Within the eastern side of the room is an original screen of three depressed arches, all, apart from one retained as a doorway, blocked during the mid 20th century. The inclusion of the screen would suggest a room with status and may indicate the siting of the original boardroom. The evidence for this is further enhanced when comparing the generic design of workhouses attributed to Scott and Moffat, where the entrance block housed the boardroom in the eastern half of the building (e.g. as at Tiverton; Passmore and Steinmetzer 2010). At Newton Abbot this is possibly shown, on an 1889 Ordnance Survey map (EA 2006, Fig. 5) as a divided-off section at the east side of the entrance block. Given the inclusion of the screen, it would be supposed that a subsidiary entrance, possibly porched and for sole use by the Board of Governors, was located at this end of the entrance block. No indication of this porch is evident, the present space appearing to be wholly rebuilt and constructed as an austere low-ceiling room, with sash windows, in the early 20th century. The building has been thoroughly modernised, and other than the features described above, very few historic fittings survive. Some skirting boards remain, but even most of these have been removed when the floors were recovered.
The roof is supported on king post trusses with diagonal struts. The collars are supported by scarfjointed collar braces and arch braces. Additional support has been added using wrought iron ties and brackets.

Exeter Archaeology, 2006, Newton Abbot Hospital, Devon. Archaeological Assessment and Historic Buildings Appraisal, 16 (Report - Assessment). SDV347328.

Entrance Block. Considered to be a building of high significance, as part of the workhouse designed by Scott and Moffat who were leading exponents in workhouse architecture in the early-mid 19th century.

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

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

Newton Abbot Hospital central entrance block attached walls and piers, East Street. Carriage arch and flanking buildings to Newton Abbot Hospital. Originally a workhouse range of 1836-1839 by Moffat and Scott. MATERIALS: incised stucco with limestone rubble to the rear, slate roofs hipped to the fronts. PLAN: Three rectangular-plan blocks connected by corridors, with pitched roof to left and mid 20th century flat roof to right: entrance flanked by 2-bay links to end blocks, both one storey originally but that to west (right) heightened in late 19th century. EXTERIOR: one- and 2 storeys; formerly symmetrical, 2 windows to each block and to each corridor. Plinths, eaves bands and impost string courses to the three blocks, which continue on the returns. The central carriage entrance (glazed late 20th century) has clasping pilasters supporting entablature and pediment over tall semicircular arch with stepped voussoirs. The rear, of rubblestone has a dentil cornice below the pediment. The fronts of the flanking blocks have similar plinths, pilasters, friezes and voussoirs to 2 semicircular-arched 6/6-pane sash windows with radial glazing bars and margin panes. Right-hand block with a wider, similar block attached to the rear, probably raised to 2 storeys later 19th century, does not have margin panes to the first floor. Similar windows to the returns. The linking corridors are articulated by wide pilasters. Single-storey flat-roofed additions to rear, with similar pedimented feature to entry. INTERIOR: not inspected but noted as being altered. SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: attached to the rear inner corners of the outer blocks are thick rubblestone walls approx 4 metres high which cant inwards to form a courtyard, meet tall square piers, turn to the rear and slope downwards to approx 1 metre. The courtyard now has 20th century infill. The main workhouse range has been demolished. Date listed: 22nd March 1983. Date of most recent amendment: 11th December 1996.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6155 - Historic Building Recording, Former Newton Abbot Hospital, Devon (Ref: ACD441/3/0)

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