Hawthorne Works Now J T Dove Ltd (Building Materials)

Hawthorne Works, now J T Dove Ltd, is a former railway engineering works established between 1845 and 1858, which has since been converted into a builders merchant. The building is constructed of red brick with slate and glass roofs and consists of two long parallel engineering sheds, which are partially integrated into a later 20th-century shed with steel cladding. The west facade features numerous blind brick arches, while the south facade includes a blind circular opening in the gable.

Inside, the sheds have many exposed roof trusses, including queen-post trusses. An iron arcade between the two sheds supports a timber section with diagonal braces, and the iron columns are reinforced with arched braces for additional support. This iron arcade, along with a corresponding timber and brick arcade on the west shed, likely supported a mobile crane at some point.

Historically, the engineering works was founded by brothers Robert and William Hawthorn in 1820 near Forth Banks. After a fire in 1844, these new sheds were constructed for railway locomotive manufacturing. The company merged with Robert Stephenson & Co in 1937, although railway engine production had ceased at this site around 1900.