Westcliffe Terrace, Seaton, Devon

Situated upon the top of the Chine, which cuts down to the beach at the western end of West Walk, this delightful terrace was built in the late Georgian and early Victorian style during the mid 19th century.

A Grade II Listed Building, it comprises eight houses consisting of three storeys plus attic and basement - now split up into flats - with bay windows on the ground and first floors.

I love the Georgian style bay windows; shallower than more modern ones, they also have the most delightful curved glass panes.

The basement flats have access to lovely small courtyards, which some have made into pretty gardens with potted plants and seating areas. I knew someone who lived in one of the basement flats and they are quite roomy and with the addition of the outdoor space are somewhere I'd quite like to live.

Overlooking the Chine and the sea, you can't see much of the sea from the top, and the photo below shows the view from just partway up. The view from some of the higher windows might be more extensive and dramatic, although there are some very tall trees obscuring the view.

There is a nice little nook with a picnic table though, with sight of the sea through the trees.

Whilst visiting some friends who lived on the top, attic floor - I knew several people who lived here over the years, lol - I was suddenly startled by movement outside the windows. In a split second I thought that it was someone peeping in yet realising at the same time that we were too high up. The others laughed and said they'd been caught out like that when they first moved in, and that in fact it was seagulls and pigeons roosting and walking about on the parapet just outside the window.

Like many buildings of this era, the terrace looks quite different at the rear. There are still bay windows but, although the sides are plastered and painted to match the front, the rest shows the exposed red brick faded to a lovely orange.

One of the things I really like is the wall to the rear courtyards as it bends around the swerve in the road.   

The additional buildings to the rear also contrast nicely with their white painted walls. I don't know if they were part of the original design, or if they were built during conversion to flats.

And here's just two more photos taken from across the opposite side of the Chine, in Cliff Field.

And another one from the path to finish off with. :)

 

 

 

 

Eyre Court Terrace, Seaton, Devon

This is a rather lovely Edwardian terrace comprising three houses, built in 1904 at a time when many new buildings in Seaton were erected to celebrate the new century. These include Manor Cottages, the Town Hall, the Trevelyan Road Arts & Crafts houses and the Gothic Revival houses on Manor Road.

 

The three front gables bear plaques, the first AD, the second WJT and the third 1904. WJT stands for Walter John Trevelyan - the then Lord of the Manor - who also built Manor Cottages.

As well as the Arts and Crafts houses of the period there were also revivalist styles, including Classical styles, which were once again fashionable. This was especially so in the early Edwardian time, continuing to draw on changes during the late Victorian styles.

This revival of 18th century Neo-Georgian styles began to appear. More slim-lined than the Victorian Revivalist terrace, this one has very shallow bays without side windows. The doors are recessed inside entryways with pilasters to each side of the entrance and broken segmental pediments above. Although, the third one has lost the ball from its finial.

The first set of photos were taken in January 2012 but I took another set more recently in February of last year. Unfortunately, I didn't realise at the time that my camera was on the blink, affecting the light and focussing settings, so they came out a little odd and blurred. Mind, I really like the colours, and I managed to edit the blurring a bit, so Ive added the best of those where necessary. They're the sunny ones.

 

The odd thing is, when taking the latest photos I didn't realise that the first house had painted the pediment black, which makes it look a little strange...although not strange enough for me to notice at the time. So much for being observant! ;)

Now completely residential, one or two have also been inhabited by at least two solicitor's legal practices in the past. One was still there when I took the first set of photos, but has since moved elsewhere in Seaton, whereas the other one moved to other Seaton premises some twenty odd years ago now.

The first house has delightful stained glass panels on the ground and first floor windows. I'm not sure if the windows themselves have been worked on or if they've been made separately then hung up in the windows, but I was really pleased to see that they're still there.

That's just one of several Edwardian buildings in Seaton that I really like and took photos of. I think it's my favourite period of architecture as I find the variety - and quality of the variety - to be extremely interesting. More to come anon. 

And slightly belated, I'd like to wish everyone a fabulous Summer Solstice. Although it was officially the solstice yesterday, we have the same length of day for today and tomorrow as well. So I hope you enjoy! :)

 

Jubilee Clock Tower, Seaton, Devon

Built in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Jubilee, the clock tower stands in Seafield Gardens overlooking Jubilee Garden. Originally the site of a large residential building, the lower part of the gardens were landscaped after the house was bombed during World War II.

This included a precipitous rockery, winding steps, waterfall, meandering stream and two ponds, making a delightful foreground to Seaton's favourite landmark. Sadly, the stream and lower circular pond were removed and landscaped over, turning the area into a half-amphitheatre. Below that the lawn still remains, where people can picnic and children play, but without the stream and the wishing well at the bottom. The oblong pond in the top Seafield Gardens has also been kept, seen above left.

Taken from the other side, the date plaque and entrance, above. It was possible to squeeze beneath the foliage to get to the door. No access of course, but it enabled me to get some close-up photos. 

Built with lovely red brick and tiles, I would have expected the dressings to be in Beer Stone, taken from the nearby limestone quarry in the village of Beer, but I haven't been able to substantiate that yet.

Some lovely attention to detail, as was the case in Victorian times; a tiny but pretty stained glass window, above, sadly damaged and now protected by a covering of perspex. And below, a cute little trefoil in the tympanum above the door.

 

 

The original clock mechanism, complete with bells, was removed during the 1990s and is now on display in Seaton Museum. Having been replaced by an electric movement in the clock tower it's still lovely to hear it strike the hour.

 

I don't have any more pertinent information about it at the moment but it's a much loved monument in the town, and one that I've taken quite a lot of photos of. So, here's some more of those below. :)

Having written about the clock tower it occurred to me that an article about the two gardens might be a good idea, which I'll do sometime in the future and link to this and the cactus house posts. Meanwhile, I've still got plenty to be getting on with as well, with many erstwhile website articles to rewrite plus a growing bunch of new ones. Onwards and upwards, lol. :)