Wills' Tobacco Factory

NZ 26 NE COAST ROAD (north side)

9/809 Wills' Tobacco Factory 17/11/86

II

Factory. Mid 1940s to an earlier design. Red brick and Portland stone; roof flat and hidden by parapets. Dignified Art Deco style. Main south front 3 storeys, 23 bays in all. Projecting 3-bay centre, 2-bay each end and 8-bay intermediate sections. Central balustraded perron from which a wide flight of steps rises to terrace in front of door. At either side quadrant retaining walls hold shrubberies. All these are ashlar with banded copings; panelled piers to perron. Central glazed (double) door in a fully-glazed section framed by stout round piers which support a banded flat hood with quadrant angles. Side lights outside the piers; the whole entrance in a porch, with fluted top band and quadrant corners, projecting from the tall central tower which has a fluted frieze and a top slipped back in 3 stages, the middle one fluted the lower one with WDE H O WILLS in sans-serif letters. Centre section of tower recessed, with tall, 4-light, horizontal paned window under egg-and-dart carved lintel with acanthus keystone. Above this a clock, stopped at noon. Ashlar tower and porch flanked by lower brick staircase towers with long two-light similar window and matching top treatment though with only one step back. Penultimate bays are lower, blank ashlar towers which hae shallow tall recessed panels with bands of fluting at heads. Intermediate sections have 3 tiers of 4-light metal-framed windows, held by ashlar piers set back in 2 places at sides, those on ground floor higher. Above, between and below the bands of windows are bands of uninterrupted brickwork with stone edging strips. Set-back outer bays are similar but with 2-light windows. 17-bay returns are exactly similar but without a central section; and the outer towers have doors under flat hoods and long stair windows above. Attached to the brickwork in places are names of products, which can be lit up at night: probably later in date. Half-glazed porch addition on left return is not of special interest.

Listing NGR: NZ2811066918