Customs House

Cadw's description

Location

Above the foreshore at the entrance to the former Penarth Docks with high revetment wall to hillside at rear.

History

Dated 1865; probably by Samuel Dobson who designed the first dock at Penarth.

Exterior

Wrenaissance style. 2-storey plus attic 5-bay symmetrical front with central bell tower and advanced pedimented end bays. Yellow brick with bathstone dressings, rusticated ground floor and red brick left side elevation; formerly slate roofs (before fire); yellow brick chimney stacks. Plinth, sill band and overall plain entablature with heavily moulded eaves course. Swagged Ionic coupled pilasters to outer bays containing bracket pedimented windows; cantilevered iron balcony (modern addition) to right bay. Similar segmental pedimented central window and flanking by windows with shouldered architraves; bracket sill and lugged architraves to attic windows. Central Doric porch with modillion cornice and double 3-panel doors; cambered headed ground floor windows. Bell tower with octagonal, domed roof, and weathervane on bracket cornice; clock faces, foliage panels over splayed stem with carved Royal Arms to front supported by volute brackets.

3-bay right side elevation with similar treatment, slightly advanced and pedimented broad central bay. Central Venetian window with broken bracketed pediment on plain pilasters. Advanced pedimented doorcase below with arched entrance; set back round headed doorway at rear. Side access at right through rusticated gate piers.

Twin segmental arched store entrances attached to left of the front surmounted by segmental pediment over scrolled cartouche reading "Erected AD 1865".

Boarded up, unoccupied at time of inspection (February 1992).

Reason for designation

Group value with Marine Buildings.