Building record TR 34 SW 2316 - Historic Building 1-8 Caves Court (The Warehouse), Dover, Kent

Summary

1-8 Caves Court (The Warehouse) Dover. Likely mid - late C19th building located to the rear of Worthington Street and Queens Gardens in a private courtyard, with a domestic use. Currently (2019) in a good condition. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Location

Grid reference Centred TR 3179 4155 (19m by 18m)
Map sheet TR34SW
County KENT
District DOVER, KENT
Civil Parish DOVER, DOVER, KENT

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

Large rectangular Victorian warehouse in a brown/buff coloured brick which has recently been converted into eight flats. It is located behind the buildings fronting Biggin Street, Worthington Street and Queens Gardens within a small private courtyard accessed via a gap at the ground floor level in the terrace on the south eastern side of Worthington Street. It shares several architectural details and is in the same style as No 2-4 Queens Gardens which is located just to the north west. The north eastern façade has five bays, with the openings aligning across all three floors. The windows within the outer two and the central bays are slightly narrower than the others. There is a door located within the central bay at the ground floor level which is accessed via a set of four modern metal steps. The ground floor is in a painted brick while the first and second floors are in an exposed brick and there are segmental red brick arches over all of the windows and the door, and small brick sills below all of the windows. Twelve, likely original, structural pins are located across the façade; four per floor at the tops of each of the floors. Several modern features are attached to this façade including letter boxes for each of the flats, a security system and is associated wiring, several satellite dishes and aerials and modern gutter down pipes. The north eastern façade is narrower, only three bays wide which are divided by wide brick pilasters attached to which are eight further structural pins, the central bay is slightly wider than the two outer. The southern most of the ground floor bays is blocked by an extension attached to the rear of No. 6 Queens Gardens. The whole façade is in an exposed brown/buff coloured brick, apart from a small rendered band at the base of the ground floor. There are red brick segmental arches over all of the windows and small protruding stone sills. The ground and first floor openings within the central bay are wider than those across the rest of the façade and the first and second floor windows are at a slightly lower level than the first and second floor windows on the outer bays. This allows room for a further window at the attic level over the second floor within the central bay. The brickwork above the second-floor windows on the two outer bays is slightly advanced and flush with the brick pilasters which divide the bays. There is a stepped brick cornice in a mixture of red and brown brick between the two pilasters and below this advanced section/directly above the second-floor windows. There is a further larger cornice at the very top of the second floor over the outer two bays with a slight brick parapet above. There is a large triangular pediment over the central bay, again this is slightly advanced from the main façade and flush with the brick pilasters. There is a further stepped brick cornice in a mixture of red and brown brick between the two pilasters directly over the third floor/attic window. Above this there is a large semi-circular arch in red brick, with the area between this arch and the top of the cornice over the third floor window filled with decoratively bonded brown bricks. There is a final stepped brick cornice located just beneath the coping over the triangular pediment. Much of this pediment rises above the roof level and forms a parapet over it, a tall modern. A lot of vegetation is growing at the upper levels on this façade, particularly on the upper cornice over the outer bays. despite this the building appears to be structurally sound and in a good condition having been recently and sympathetically converted.

All of the windows are modern, plastic replacements and are a mix of casement and sash. The wide openings within the central bay on the north western façade have been partially blocked with timber with small, square casement windows inserted into this timber. The door is also modern and is in a painted (red) timber, with a square glazed panel occupying its uppermost 1/3rd . All of the openings are in a good condition.

The roof level was not clearly seen from the courtyard below but is gable in slate with the gable ends over the north western and south eastern party walls, with a high parapet rising above it. A number of modern skylights have been inserted to allow natural light to enter the attic flats. A number of aerials and satellite dishes are attached to the roof and there is a large modern flagpole located directly behind the parapet over the north western party wall. Appears to be structurally sound and in a good condition. (1)


<1> Kent County Council, 2019, Historic building condition asseesment and photographic survey of Dover Town Centre (Unpublished document). SKE52120.

Sources/Archives (1)

  • <1>XY Unpublished document: Kent County Council. 2019. Historic building condition asseesment and photographic survey of Dover Town Centre. [Mapped feature: #101778 Building, ]

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (2)

  • Non-Intrusive Event: Walkover and photographic survey of Dover Town - Area 1 Town Centre (EKE19202)
  • Event Boundary: Walkover and photographic survey of Dover Town Centre (EKE19201)

Record last edited

Jun 19 2019 12:36PM