Miners' Convalescent Home

The Miners' Convalescent Home, built between 1925 and 1927 by the architectural firm Bradshaw, Gass and Hope, is a notable example of Baroque Revival architecture. Constructed from red and light engineering brick with terracotta dressings primarily on the ground floor, it features slate hipped roofs. The main block is large and symmetrical, comprising three storeys plus an attic, with a front elevation arranged in a 2:1:3:1:3:1:3:1:3:1:2 pattern. The central nine-window bays are recessed between projecting wings, with the side and central windows also recessed. The central bay is topped with a pediment and flanked by rusticated brick quoins.

The ground floor of the central section includes a closed loggia with paired columns that separate large round-headed glazed doors, with the central doorway beneath a prominent swan-necked pediment. The wings feature bowed windows only on the ground floor. Asymmetrical ancillary ranges are located to the right and left, and a large tower at the rear has an upper stage and an ogee-shaped dome that is visible from the front. The rear elevation is treated monumentally but with simpler detailing, while the south elevation has a single-storey projection with an open central colonnade leading to day rooms.

Inside, the layout is centered around an axial corridor with a central staircase located at the rear of the entrance hall. The principal rooms on the ground floor feature parquet flooring, oak panelling, and doors in the formal rooms, such as the Board room, along with brass door furniture and generously proportioned fireplaces with oak surrounds, all reflecting an early 18th century style. The ancillary and service rooms appear to be largely unaltered. Overall, the Miners' Convalescent Home is an interesting and remarkably intact example of a specialist hospital building, notable for its impressive and monumental style, despite being built later than the typical period for such architecture.