Oldway House, Paignton (3)
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Oldway House, Paignton (3) by Stephen Richards as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Oldway House, Paignton (3)
Image: © Stephen Richards Taken: 19 May 2004
Until fairly recently* surely the most lavish council offices in the country. The house is extraordinary - it has three show-fronts, all quite different and yet all very French. It was originally built for Isaac Singer (of sewing machine fame) in 1873, his architect G.S. Bridgman. In 1904-07, perhaps with his blood up after a visit to Versailles, Isaac's son Paris added two "stunningly bombastic fronts", one of which is seen here. Grade II* listed. *In 2012 Torbay Council sold it to developers for conversion to a hotel and flats, controversially as its predecessor had bought it at a knock-down price (£45K in 1946) on the condition that it would be accessible to the public. See also Image], Image] and Image
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
50.442955
Longitude
-3.567542