Harwich, Dovercourt and Parkeston

Harwich's Old Town is unlike anywhere else we work: a medieval street plan packed with old buildings, with a largely Georgian character. Dovercourt and Parkeston, next door, grew with the railway and the port.

Harwich Old Town

Harwich was laid out as a planned town in the late 12th or early 13th century. In 1338 a grant to build town walls fixed its boundaries, so buildings were packed onto small plots. Many are timber-framed underneath, but 18th-century fronts give the town its largely Georgian look, and a lot of them are listed. West Street, Church Street and Kings Head Street run south from the quay, joined by narrower side streets.

That shapes every job here. There are few front gardens, little parking and tall fronts on the pavement edge. A water-fed pole from the pavement suits windows here. Gutters on tall, narrow houses take careful setting up, and old cast-iron or timber details need a gentle hand.

Dovercourt and Parkeston

Dovercourt was a resort in the early 19th century and grew much faster after the railway came, with late Victorian housing near the line and steady building since the war. The shops are along the High Street, and caravan parks and beach huts line the southern seafront. Parkeston's late 19th-century terraces were built for workers at the new quay.

Here the work is more like Clacton: terraces with small yards, post-war houses with drives and lawns, and gardens that need regular care.

What we do here

• Gutter cleaning and window cleaning
• Garden clearance and maintenance, and driveway cleaning
• Handyman jobs and flat-pack

Questions