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Summary

Description

18th century, possibly incorporating earlier fabric. 3-storey, piend- roofed, pantiled rubble building with some raised ashlar surrounds and quoins.

S ELEVATION: slightly lower building (not included in this listing) adjoining to left, ground floor obscured, 2 large windows to right at 1st floor and 4 irregular openings close to eaves at 2nd floor.

E (ADAM SMITH'S CLOSE) ELEVATION: ground floor with deep-set door to left of centre at ground, blank above; high boundary walls of Adam Smith's Close abutting to outer right and left.

W ELEVATION: window in bay to right at 1st floor and to centre at 2nd floor; high boundary wall abutting to outer left.

N ELEVATION: only 2nd floor with 4 windows close to eaves visible.

All openings blocked. Pantiles. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

Statement of Special Interest

20 The Esplanade is a rare surviving example of a rig building of a type once prevelant on rigs extending from the High Street to Sands Road. The rig areas behind the buildings fronting the High Street were commonly developed from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century onwards, often with proto-industrial buildings, and there is evidence that a saw mill was located on this site by 1855. Many of the early rig buildings were demolished following the development of the Esplanade, in particular in the early to mid 20th century, when the street developed from its original form as a small back lane fronting onto the beach. This makes 20 The Esplanade a rare survivor of the urban fabric which predated this re-development.

Map evidence from the 1809 Moore map shows a building on the site of 20 The Esplanade which extends across the full width of the rig to a similar extent of this building. In addition there is a U-shaped courtyard plan building attached to the rear which is open to the sea at the N corner. By the Wood plan of 1822 the courtyard building has been infilled and there is a development across the whole of the rig. The 1855 first edition Ordnance Survey shows a building spanning the width of the rig to the east (where the present building remains) and a narrower infill development running back towards the sea.

Based on the map evidence it is likely that the building dates from the late 18th or early 19th century or incorporates fabric from the building shown on the 1809 Moore plan. This would be consistent with the period when the plots to the rear of rig systems began to be more intensively developed. The site has evidently been subject to some change since this initial development, in particular with alterations to the area to the west of the current building. Consequently whilst the extant building may not retain the precise form of the late 18th century building on the site it it is likely to retain fabric of this date and is characteristic of this period and type of rig development and a rare survival of its type.

(References and Notes updated 2011)

References

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