FOR SALE £299,000 - Open day 23rd July
Naval Terrace, part of England's great forgotten Royal dockyard at Sheerness, is a hidden gem. No.5 sits at the centre of this elegant terrace of former officer's houses. This is a rare opportunity to own a beautifully built and handsomely fitted out Georgian House.
Naval Terrace is an elegant Georgian row of 8, three storey, houses. The terrace was built between 1824 to 1827 to accommodate officers from the Royal Naval Dockyard behind. It was designed by George Ledwell Taylor as part of a masterplan for the rebuilding of the dockyard devised by Sir John Rennie. The terrace is Grade II* listed.
Although the elegant setting of the dockyard has been much eroded and industrialised since it became a commercial port in 1961, what remains from the 19th-century masterplan is of the highest quality. The houses in Naval Terrace are well preserved, with superb fittings, and retain their walled gardens and coach houses. A number of the houses have been meticulously restored. No.5 is in good condition but still requires some work. Original features include a handsome top-lit central staircase with mahogany handrail, fitted cupboards and stone flags in the basement. The houses have front gardens which were once enclosed by railings. The terrace owners have recently joined together to fund new railings to be reinstated to the original design.
The dockyard itself extends to the rear of the terrace, within the sealed commercial port, behind a high brick wall. The original 60-acre site was designed with monumental stores and warehouses, basins, dry docks, an infirmary, barracks and accommodation for officers in the form of mansions and terraces. The docks have seen many losses since the 1960s but a large number of historic buildings survive, some standing empty.
At the end of Naval Terrace stands the shell of the former Royal Dockyard Church (Grade II*), burnt out in 2001.
In 2010 the World Monuments Fund added the whole dockyard site to its Watch List of endangered sites. With this international spotlight and the interest of a number of Building Preservation Trusts, we hope to see the historic dockyard being brought back to life over the coming years. The future looks bright for this remarkable and forgotten Georgian enclave.
Follow this link for further information on the Sheerness Dockyard and the World Monuments Fund.
The Georgian Group is holding an open day on 23 July - for further details contact Rob Kouyoumdjian, Marketing and Resources Manager, The Georgian Group, 0207 529 8921
