See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

House built in 1824 , divided into flats. Two storeys, symmetrical three-bay front with central round-headed doorway. The three tall first floor sash windows have individual cast-iron balconies with spider's web motifs.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1385311: 3, PROSPECT PLACE

Other References/Statuses

• Old Listed Building Ref: 485773

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• HOUSE (XIX to XXI - 1824 AD to 2009 AD)

Full description

English Heritage, 05/09/2012, Prospect House, 3 Prospect Place, Barnstaple (Correspondence). SDV350112.

English Heritage have received an application to amend the entry for Prospect House on the List of Buildings of Special Architecture or Historic Interest.

English Heritage, 15/06/2014, Prospect House, 3 and 3a Prospect Place (Correspondence). SDV356761.

No. 3 Prospect Place (now 3 and 3a) was listed at Grade II in 1973. English Heritage have been asked to amend the List entry to add the name of the property, Prospect House; to include its history as a school when it was amalgamated with the neighbouring house, Charnwood (separately listed at Grade II); and to provide a fuller description of the interior.

The special architectural and historic interest of No. 3 Prospect Place (known as Prospect House, 3 and 3a) was recognised in 1973 when it was added to the List at Grade II. It is a good example of an early-C19 town house. Its principal elevation is well composed with good attention to detailing and its internal plan, despite the removal of the principal staircase at ground floor which occurred prior to the building being listed in 1973, remains legible. Furthermore, the house retains many of its fixtures and fittings from the early C19 including joinery, cornices and some fireplaces. The house appears to have undergone some refurbishment in the late C19 and early C20 as illustrated by the ground-floor fireplaces and picture rails of this period, but this does not detract from the overall intactness of the original scheme, and provides evidence for the evolution of the house.

The applicant requested that the List entry be amended to provide details of the internal fixtures and fittings and to specifically mention the curved door to the ground-floor hall which the applicant thought was a unique feature. The curved door is an interesting feature of the house but it is not unique. Curved doors are more commonly found in the stately homes of the C18 designed by architects such as Robert Adam, but were also manufactured into the early C19 and can be found in more modest properties. The list entry should, however, be updated to include reference to this door, as well as other fixtures and fittings, to provide a fuller description of the building and to better articulate its special interest in line with current practice. The list entry should also be amended to include the building’s name, Prospect House, and also the first-floor flat No. 3a as part of the building’s address.
In response to the consultation we have been asked to consider excluding the two attached structures,
namely the two-storey addition with the sunroom to the first floor, and the lean-to structure housing the rear staircase, from the listing. Recent changes to the 1990 Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act allow for the extent of listing to be legally defined, allowing us to say definitively whether an attached or curtilage structure is included in the listing. However, exclusions can only be made when we can be certain about a feature’s lack of special interest, based on currently available evidence and understanding. In this case the historic map evidence depicts ancillary buildings to the rear of the house from at least the late C19, and the two structures in question appear to be of this date. As C19 additions they provide evidence of the historic development of the house and should, therefore, be included in the list entry. However, it is recognised that these structures, which have also been subject to some C20 alteration, are of lesser architectural and historic interest than the main house. In recommending the extent of designation, we have considered whether powers of exclusion under s.1 (5A) of the 1990 Act are appropriate, and consider that they not.

EXTERIOR: a two-storey house with attic accommodation, the principal elevation (north-west) is arranged as three symmetrical bays flanked by pilasters with incised mouldings. The deep, boxed eaves have an eaves band and moulded brackets. There is a central, round-headed, recessed archway forming a shallow porch, to the rear of which is a six-panel entrance door with fielded panels and a fanlight above with radial glazing bars. The doorway is flanked by eight-over-eight hornless sash windows, with three further eight-over-twelve sashes to the first floor, each with an individual cast iron balcony with a spider’s web motif and scrollwork. To the attic are two gabled dormer windows with three-over-three sash windows. To the rear elevation (south-east) there is a two-storey building constructed of mass-wall construction to the ground floor and brick laid in stretcher bond to the first floor, with a glazed sun-room above. An attached, lean-to addition houses the staircase. There is a gabled dormer with a pair of sash windows with margin lights to the attic, and set-back to the right is a further gabled dormer with a pair of one-over-one sash windows.

INTERIOR: the interior is arranged as two separate flats. The ground-floor flat is accessed via the central
doorway to the principal elevation and the first-floor flat is accessed via the staircase to the rear of the house. The ground-floor, C19 internal porch door has a five-panel arrangement to its lower section with a glazed panel above and leads to a narrow hallway with a reception room to either side. The room to the left (north-east) has a mid-to late C19 fireplace with an inserted, Edwardian, cast-iron grate. There is a blocked doorway to the right of the fireplace which dates to the time when the house was joined with its neighbour to form a school. This has a moulded architrave and corner blocks with floral motifs. To the rear wall is a large arched niche which cuts through the picture rail. The room to the right (south-west) of the hallway has an early-C20 fireplace with a copper grate. Both these rooms retain their early-C19 plaster cornices, moulded architraves to the windows, window shutters, and late-C19 picture rails. The hallway continues through one of a pair of arches with imposts and pilasters with Greek key carvings, and there is a single archway opposite. This rectangular section of hallway has an oval centrepiece to the ceiling and a moulded early-C19 cornice. The principal staircase was located to the right of the hallway and has been removed; it is now the location of the bathroom. To the left of the hallway is a further reception room with a mid-to late C19 fireplace with cast-iron grate. There is a cupboard to the right of the fireplace which was a further doorway to the neighbouring property. Beyond the single archway the hallway continues and has a curved south-east end which contains an early-C19 four-panel curved door. This leads towards the kitchen which retains its early-C19 fireplace; the range has been removed, and a small room beneath the rear staircase. The rear staircase leads to the first-floor sun room and provides access to the first-floor landing via an arched opening.
The landing is curved at the south-east end and has an early-C19 cornice. The rectangular section of landing at the north-west end has moulded archways and pilasters to three sides and a cross-vaulted ceiling, and provides access to the reception rooms. The principal room (north-east) has a pair of sash windows with window shutters, and is set within a moulded architrave with corner blocks containing a floral motif. It has an early C19 cornice and fireplace; the grate has been removed. There are two further early-C19 fireplaces which have roundels to the corner blocks and one has a mid-C19 cast-iron grate. The room to the left of the landing contains a former doorway to the neighbouring property, and to the right of the landing is the principal staircase which provides access to the attic rooms. Throughout the interior are early-C19 six-panel doors with moulded architraves, some with carved corner blocks.

Reasons for Designation
Prospect House, Nos. 3 and 3a Prospect Place, an early-C19 town house with C19 and C20 alterations is
listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: as a good example of a well-composed, early-C19 town house;
* Intactness: the original plan remains legible and there are good-quality early-C19 fixtures and fittings
throughout, including joinery, some fireplaces and cornices;
* Group value: it forms one of a terrace of four early to mid-C19 houses of varied design, including the
neighbouring Charnwood, No. 2 Prospect Place (Grade II) with which it was previously amalgamated to form a school.

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

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

House, divided into flats. 1824 (information from the owner). Smooth-plastered mass wall construction; natural slate roof; stacks with brick shafts and old pots. Double-depth plan, 2 rooms wide with principal rooms at first-floor level. First floor now entered from the rear. 2 storeys. Symmetrical 3-bay front. Deep boxed eaves with eaves band and moulded brackets. Left and right pilasters with incised moulding. Round-headed doorwway in centre with recessed arch. Internal porch with 6-panel door with fielded panels, fanlight with spoke glazing bars. Ground-floor windows 16-pane hornless sashes; 3 first-floor 8 over 12-pane sashes with pretty individual cast-iron balconies with spider's web motifs. 2 gabled dormers glazed with 6-pane sashes. Interior: ground floor retains probably late 19th century decorated plaster cornices in stair hall; stair removed. 19th century joinery survives. First floor is more complete with original panelled doors with planted mouldings; fluted doorcases with carved corner blocks; pretty early 19th century plaster cornices; Edwardian chimneypieces and staircase. One of a small attractive terrace of varied designs.

English Heritage, 28/01/2014, Prospect House, 3 Prospect Place, Barnstaple (Correspondence). SDV356151.

Prospect House was built in c1824, along with its neighbour, Charnwood. Both houses were brought by a Miss Henderson who amalgamated the properties to form The Misses Henderson’s Ladies Day and Boarding School which opened in 1825. The houses continued in use as a school until the 1870s and by the 1880s it had been returned to two separate dwellings. Prospect House was listed at Grade II in 1973. At this time the house had been divided into flats.

Details
An early-C19 house, divided into two flats, with C19 and C20 alterations.

MATERIALS: constructed of smooth-plastered mass-wall construction. It has a slate tile roof and stone chimney stacks with brick shafts.
PLAN: a double-depth plan with rooms to either side of a central hall.

EXTERIOR: a two-storey house with attic accommodation, the principal elevation (north-west) is arranged as three symmetrical bays flanked by pilasters with incised mouldings. The deep, boxed eaves have an eaves band and moulded brackets. There is a central, round-headed, recessed archway forming a shallow porch, to the rear of which is a six-panel entrance door with fielded panels and a fanlight above with radial glazing bars. The doorway is flanked by eight-over-eight hornless sash windows, with three further eight-over-twelve sashes to the first floor, each with an individual cast iron balcony with a spider’s web motif and scrollwork. To the attic are two gabled dormer windows with three-over-three sash windows. To the rear elevation (south-east) is a two-storey building with a lean-to addition which houses the staircase. The two-storey extension is constructed of mass-wall construction to the ground floor and brick laid in stretcher bond to the first floor, with a glazed sun-room above. To the attic is a gabled dormer with a pair of sash windows with margin lights. Set-back to the right is a further gabled dormer with a pair of one-over-one sash windows.

INTERIOR: the interior is arranged as two separate flats. The ground-floor flat is accessed via the central doorway to the principal elevation and the first-floor flat is accessed via the staircase to the rear of the house. The ground-floor, C19 internal porch door has a five-panel arrangement to its lower section with a glazed panel above and leads to a narrow hallway with a reception room to either side. The room to the left (north-east) has a mid-to late C19 fireplace with an inserted, Edwardian, cast-iron grate, to the right of which is a blocked doorway, which dates to the time when the house was joined with its neighbour to form a school. This has a moulded architrave and corner blocks with floral motifs. To the rear wall is a large arched niche which cuts through the picture rail. The room to the right (south-west) of the hallway has an early-C20 fireplace with a copper grate. Both these rooms retain their early-C19 plaster cornices, moulded architraves to the windows, window shutters, and late-C19 picture rails. The hallway continues through one of a pair of arches with imposts and pilasters with Greek key carvings, and there is a single archway opposite. This rectangular section of hallway has an oval centrepiece to the ceiling and a moulded early-C19 cornice. To the right of this section of the hallway the principal staircase has been removed and is now the location of the bathroom. To the left is a further reception room with a mid-to late C19 fireplace with cast-iron grate. To the right of this is a cupboard which was a further former doorway to the neighbouring property. Beyond the single archway the hallway continues and has a curved south-east end which contains an early-C19 four-panel curved door. This leads towards the kitchen which retains its early-C19 fireplace; the range has been removed, and a
small room beneath the rear staircase. The rear staircase leads to the first-floor sun room and provides access to the first-floor landing via an arched opening. The landing is curved at the south-east end and has an early-C19 cornice. There is a rectangular section of the landing to the north-west end which has moulded archways and pilasters to three sides and a cross-vaulted ceiling, and provides access to the reception rooms. The principal room (north-east) has a pair of sash windows with window shutters, set within a moulded architrave with corner blocks containing a floral motif. It has an early C19 cornice and fireplace; the grate has been removed. There are two further early-C19 fireplaces which have roundels to the corner blocks and one has a mid-C19 cast-iron grate. The room to the left of the landing contains a former doorway to the neighbouring property, and to the right of the landing is the principal staircase which provides access to the attic rooms. Throughout the interior are early-C19 six-panel doors with moulded architraves, some with carved corner blocks.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.