26301

 

II  

Designated  

03/03/1961  

28/03/2002  

Belgrave Hotel and area railings  

 

Pembrokeshire  

Tenby  

Tenby  

 

213279  

200136  

N  

Facing the sea on the E corner of the junction of The Esplanade and Victoria Street.  

Domestic  

 

Terrace of three houses, c1875. Most of the South Cliff area of Tenby was laid out for building in 1864 by J H Shipway, engineer, on former Tuder estate land. The architect may have been F Wehnert, who did similar schemes for Milford Haven and Llandudno. The Esplanade was the principal seafront terrace, built up in the 1870s. The plots outside the original estate were developed more piecemeal, and this row of three and the two the other side of Victoria Street, now Sea View Hotel probably date from the same period as Victoria Street, built from 1872, houses being advertised in 1874. On 4 January 1878 Augustus John, the painter, was born in lodgings on the Esplanade, then known as no 50 Ropewalk Fields, the exact house identified by a plaque as the middle house of the three, his mother having come to Tenby from Haverfordwest for the birth.  

Terrace of three houses, now hotel, painted stucco with slate roofs behind parapet and rendered stacks. Basement, four storeys and attic, each house having a full-height canted bay to left and single window range to right. Detail is similar but simpler than that of 4 houses attached to right and next terrace of 6, but matches the pair of houses across Victoria St to left. Windows are square-headed sashes in moulded surrounds, mostly 4-pane, but 2-pane to narrower side lights of canted bays. A moulded cornice over ground floor and moulded string between second and third floors exists on left end house, possibly removed on the other two. Parapet has sunk panels with inset moulding with rebated angles. Basement has sash windows. Door is to right of bay in middle house, in stucco surround with cornice and added wrought iron flat hood. Double doors with overlight. Presumably a similar door existed on the right house, now a window matching those above. The left houses has a similar window, but the entry was probably always from the Victoria St side. Victoria St side wall has centre stuccoed porch with coped gable, and 4-pane sash each floor to left. Porch has door to N. Rear 3-window range to right, with paired stair lights at intermediate levels in middle bay and then NE rear wing, hipped at end. Fleur-de-lys heads to iron area railings to Esplanade and Victoria St, stanchions like turned balusters with finials.  

The main rooms generally have simple moulded cornices, surviving in the first two houses, while the middle house has the original staircase rising in 8 flights, with open well, moulded tread ends, stick balusters, and square newels.  

Included as a terrace of three substantial Victorian seafront houses, part of the terraced group on The Esplanade.