Athenaeum the Athenaeum

The Athenaeum is a literary and mechanics' institute, now functioning as a private club on the first floor with shop units below. It was built in 1851, as noted on a plaque to the right of the doorway, by R.H. Robson, who was the Land Agent to the West Hartlepool Dock Company. The building is constructed of limestone ashlar with sandstone dressings and features a hipped mid-20th century concrete tiled roof with three truncated stacks. It is designed in a plain classical style and consists of two storeys and a basement, occupying a corner site.

The principal facade faces Church Street and has five bays defined by quasi-Tuscan pilasters. The ground floor is obscured by late 19th to mid-20th century shop fronts, except for the doorway in the fourth bay, which features a moulded round arch supported by engaged quasi-Tuscan columns, deeply recessed six-panelled double doors, a fanlight with glazing bars, and panelled reveals. The second bay is narrower and blank, while the fifth bay is wider and contains two windows. All windows have been altered within their original openings. The facade is adorned with a frieze, a modillion cornice, and a shallow parapet. Above the fifth bay, there is a late 19th century flat-roofed full dormer. The left return, which faces Lynn Street, consists of eight symmetrical bays designed in a similar manner to the front. At the time of the survey, the ground floor was largely disused.