Custom House
The Old Custom House, The Quay, Poole, BH15 1HJ
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1275358
- Date first listed:
- 14-Jun-1954
- List Entry Name:
- Custom House
- Statutory Address:
- The Old Custom House, The Quay, Poole, BH15 1HJ
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 1999-09-09
- Reference:
- IOE01/02216/19
- Rights:
- © Mrs Jo Parsons. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1275358
- Date first listed:
- 14-Jun-1954
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 13-Apr-2023
- List Entry Name:
- Custom House
- Statutory Address 1:
- The Old Custom House, The Quay, Poole, BH15 1HJ
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- The Old Custom House, The Quay, Poole, BH15 1HJ
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Poole
- National Grid Reference:
- SZ 00872 90296
Summary
Custom House, built in 1781 and rebuilt in replica in 1814; now a commercial premises.
Reasons for Designation
The Custom House in Poole is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* this well-designed Georgian building is a handsome presence in this important location in Poole;
* for the reflection of the architecture of the Grade II*-listed mid-C18 Guildhall in its main elevation.
Historic interest:
* as a significant building within the development of the harbour and trade in Poole.
History
The original Custom House was destroyed by fire in 1813 and replaced in replica; this original structure was itself a rebuilding of the late C18 Red Lion Coffee House. The Custom House forms a strong group with the Town Cellar (Grade I-listed) and Harbour Office (Grade II-listed) on the old quay, illustrative of the old quayside, and forming the entrance to Thames Street.
Details
Custom house, built in 1781 and rebuilt in replica in 1814; now a commercial premises.
MATERIALS: Flemish bond brickwork with dressings of stone and rubbed brick, under a hipped slate roof with brick ridge and rear, lateral stacks.
PLAN: double-depth plan with a principal rear first-floor room.
EXTERIOR: the Custom House has two upper storeys and a semi-basement. Its front, to the west, is three bays wide, with four-bay side returns to the north and south. The principal façade has a basement impost band, moulded timber eaves, and the central pedimented bay set forward. The central porch has Tuscan columns and an entablature which carries a cast-iron Royal Coat of Arms, restored in around 1990. The double entrance doors are panelled. The porch is approached by symmetrical segmental curved stairs with wrought-iron railings, which copy those of Poole’s mid-C18 Guildhall (Grade II*-listed). Six-over-six-pane sash windows flank the entrance porch, while the central top-floor window is blank, with three-over-three-pane sash windows to either side. Below the entrance, the semi-basement floor has a keyed, segmental-arched doorway with a half-glazed door. The window openings to the semi-basement are round-arched, whilst those to the upper two storeys are flat-arched.
On the side returns the semi-basement forms a lower ground floor, and the fenestration matches that to the front elevation. There is an impost band, doorway and three windows; four sash windows to the floor above and four shorter sashes to the upper floor; and two blocked openings on the return facing Paradise Street.
INTERIOR: the ground floor is understood to be altered, but is reported to contain a rear axial stair, and a roof with four paired king-post trusses, two on each tie beam.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 412625
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Hill, M, Newman, J, Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England. Dorset, (2018), 455-456
Other
RCHME, An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 2, South East (1970), 204
Gentleman's Magazine (1812 Part II), 478
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 09-Jun-2026 at 20:02:39.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.