MEM22267 - Seawood, North Walk, Lynton (Building)

Detached villa, now hotel. Reputedly built 1843. Rendered, slate roofs. Set high above North Walk to a terrace, and close against the rear rock face, the building has a symmetrical frontage with cross-gabled end wings slightly brought forward from the centre; looks like semi-detached pair but plan shows it to have been built as one residence, with end entry (right) to a long hall with lateral staircase, and central front parlour across both bays. A secondary rear stair was originally contained in a projecting turret, but replaced internally by an early 20th Century stair to the upper 2 floors. 2 storeys, attics and basement; 1:2:1-window front. The top floor has arched lights to the end gables and central gabled face dormers, and the first floor has sashes with vertical bars and margin-panes. At the ground floor are French windows on stone cills, but opening to access steps over the basement area. Basement lights, in deep reveals, sashed. The return gable to the left is in one bay with similar fenestration, with a rear gabled wing including a segmental-headed dormer. The right return is similar, but with doorway in the wing to the rear, with the original panelled door in reveals and pilaster doorcase. All roofs very steep, with decorative barge-boards, and windows have raised rendered surrounds with keystones and projecting jamb-stones on stone cills. Corners of end pavilions have alternating quoins. Narrow but deep stacks, with a rendered frieze band, and mainly with the original terracotta pots, each side of the central section. On 3 sides is a narrow area enclosed by a stone coping carrying low cast-iron decorative railings, returned to sets of steps to the ground-floor windows as full-height balustrades. INTERIOR: original details and fitting retained to a large extent. Most of the 4-panelled doors in architraves remain, and rooms have moulded and embellished cornices in varied patterns. Windows are shuttered. The central room has a painted marble fireplace, and dining room, at E end, has a marble fireplace, and frieze with roses and grapes; both fires have cast-iron grates. The long lateral straight-flight stair has fine turned balusters with hardwood handrail and open scrolled string, and arched central window has tinted and etched glass. The basement was not inspected. One of a series of hotels in North Walk, this retains most of its original detailing, and is a late example of Regency picturesque. [1] The building was visited in April 2012 as part of the rapid condition survey of Exmoor's Listed Buildings 2012-13. It received a BAR score of 6. [2]