Former Brady And Martin Building

The former Brady and Martin building is an office and warehouse, later used as a Polytechnic building, constructed in 1890 and 1897 by W.L. Newcombe for Brady and Martin, a wholesale chemical manufacturer. The building is constructed of red brick with ashlar dressings, and has a Welsh slate roof. It comprises three storeys, with a main five-bay block and a right extension of three bays. Rusticated pilasters support a ground floor entablature, above which a giant Ionic order is topped by a modillioned cornice. The right extension has pilasters flanking its entablature. A central door, with a fanlight in a doorcase having a scrolled pediment, is located in the main block. Ground floor oriel windows have Ipswich glazing bars; the paired sash windows above have segmental pediments on the first floor and architraves on the second floor, throughout both the main block and the extension, with the exception of a central round-headed window in the extension. The roof is hipped. The building was empty at the time of survey and has since been redeveloped behind the original front facade.