Listed Building: CHARLOTTE ROW (TERRACE) (467565)

WEYMOUTH SY6879 ESPLANADE 873-1/21/131 (West side) 12/12/53 No.51 Charlotte Row (terrace) (Formerly Listed as: ESPLANADE No.51 Royal Dorset Yacht Club, Charlotte Row) GV II Public house and commercial rooms, formerly Harvey's Library and Assembly Rooms, and later the Royal Dorset Yacht Club. Late C18, in use by 1800, modified and extended mid to late C19. Rendered, slate roof. PLAN: front block has a one-room ground floor with 2 rooms over, each with high ceilings; the entrance lobby to the right has the main stair to its rear. A second range, with a frontage to New Street, is of the mid to late C19, with a second staircase, and there is a small square central courtyard. EXTERIOR: front range 2 storeys, attic and basement. Three 2-light casement hipped dormers above 5 lofty 2-light casements with overlight, set in recessed arched panels, the centre arch wider and to an elliptical head, at the first floor. RCHME refers to a cast-iron balcony at this level, which has now disappeared. Ground floor, in 5 bays, has 4 arched 4-pane sashes in channelled rustication, returning to a narrow arched bay, and with a set-back door to the right, all under a full-width frieze and dentil cornice, carried on slender, unfluted Ionic columns, on high bases, without entasis, and paired at the ends. Set back on 2+2 steps, to the right, with a tall arched opening to its right, is a large 3-panel C19 door with side-lights and deep transom light. Between the column bases is a stone plinth, with 2 recessed panels, possibly replacing former basement lights. The blind arcading to the first floor has a slender necking band, there is a bold full-width stone moulded cornice, with blocking course and parapet, and end stacks. The rear in New Street is rough rendered, in 3 storeys and basement, with mainly plain sashes, on stone sills. The second floor has a paired sash, with 4-centred bars in the upper lights, and a 2-light casement with transom, above 4-pane sashes with a smaller sash to the centre, and at ground floor are 2 sashes each side of a panelled door with transom light on 4 steps, in deep reveals with some incised detail. The basement is appraoched by a flight of concrete steps, and has three 16-pane sashes and a door, with a brick retaining wall to the area. The returns have a raised parapet, and there is a large brick stack to the left (N). INTERIOR: detail is mainly of the late C19, but some original to the first floor, and with some C20 alterations. The inner lobby has a wide pair of glazed doors, with side lights and transom light, and a similar pair of doors gives to the main room to the left. This has a C20 bar, match-board wall lining, and a heavy fireplace in black veined marble with dumpy 'Doric' columns. The main stair is in a well with curved outer end, and has a heavy moulded and swept hardwood handrail on cast-iron balusters, one to each tread with double vertical and embellished ends; the open string has scrolled tread ends. The staircase is lit by a large rectangular lantern with pent top. In parallel, and further back, is a second and simpler stair, an elongated dogleg, with stick balusters and Doric newels, possibly part of the original design. The first floor main room is in Adamesque detail, with a fine painted fire surround, including Delft tiles each side of the grate, and a lofty dentil cornice; the rear of the room has a large bullseye light facing the small interior court. In the rear range there are 2 main chambers at the upper level, each with exposed dark-stained roof timbers of characteristic late Victorian form, with 2 principal arch-braced trusses carrying paired secondary trusses at the hipped ends. (RCHME: Dorset, South-East: London: 1970-: 340). Listing NGR: SY6802779040

Record last edited

Oct 12 2009 11:53AM