2 The Terrace

Cadw's description

Location

Situated to E of dockyard entry, E of No 1 to which it is linked by garden wall.

History

1817-18 pair of houses designed by Edward Holl, built for Master Shipwright and Clerk of the Cheque of Royal Dockyard. Intended as the first of three pairs, but second not built until 1877 and the third not built.

Exterior

Tooled squared limestone with hipped roofs, one slate the other three asbestos, and four stone stacks. Basement and three storeys, 1-4-1-windows, the outer bays set back and broader with entrance doorways. Plinth, ground floor impost band, first-floor sill band, cornice and low parapet. Square upper windows with 6-pane sashes, 12-pane sashes to first floor and recessed arched openings to ground floor, four arched sashes and larger outer doorways. Original lead downpipes in angles to centre. Doorways are broad, recessed in outer arch, with big fanlights, doors with sidelights. No 2 retains double 3-panel doors, with dentil cornice, but fanlight is altered. No 3 has blank fanlight and door is altered to window. Front area with simple diagonally-crossing iron railings. Garden wall each side in squared stone, coped and ramped up to house sides. Garden door to No 2. 3-window side elevations, similar to front, full basement to No 2, recessed arches to ground floor, blank windows to right each main floor. Garden front has similar details, fine oversailing steps to No 2 from rear door, with unusual cast-iron standards entwined by serpentine scroll. Original lead downpipes.

Interior

No 3 has been converted to flats and interior not inspected. No 2 is to original plan except for repairs after war damage to windows, shutters and one ceiling on S side. Half-glazed inner hall door, simple plaster cornices based on Greek mutule, staircase set to W side. The outstanding interest of the interior is the extensive use of iron in the construction, including floor beams and trimmers each floor (sand plugging in between iron members, possibly for fire-proofing); also the roof structure of the four small hipped roofs, which has cast-iron tie-beam trusses with cast-iron diagonal braces and wrought-iron central bolted tie. Iron vertically-set battens under timber boarding under roof cladding.

Reason for designation

Grade II* as a building of exceptional constructional interest, possibly the first house in Wales to have such extensive use of iron. Also important as an integral part of this late Georgian formal group at the Dockyard.