Jodrell Bank Observatory: Park Royal Building

The Park Royal Building at Jodrell Bank Observatory is a single-storey control room, built in 1949, with a small extension added between 1963 and 1964 to house scientific apparatus, laboratories, and research offices. The building is constructed using a pre-cast concrete system, featuring concrete portal frames and walls of large concrete blocks. Originally, it had a very shallow-pitched, flat membrane roof, which was re-roofed with modern materials in 2016. The plan is rectangular, divided into multiple rooms, with a slightly lower, single-room extension projecting from the south-east side.

The exterior walls are made of large concrete blocks, now painted with a textured finish, and extend to the extension. Windows and doors have pre-cast concrete frames, and most windows are multi-paned with galvanised metal frames that incorporate side-hung and top-hung opening lights. The north-west elevation has a wide doorway centrally, alongside a narrow window, two former doorways (now windows with multi-light timber frames), and a wider window at the corner. To the right are five windows of varying widths. The south-west end elevation has a doorway with a timber door and glazed upper panel, flanked by two windows separated by a concrete mullion, and a single window to the right. The south-east elevation features a row of seven windows, with the fifth now blocked. The projecting extension to the right has a large, multi-paned window that wraps around the south-west corner, with a chamfered, single-pane and a square corner to the wall below. It also has a narrower window on its south-east elevation. The north-east end elevation has a window to the return of the extension and a row of three windows in the main building.

Inside, the building has herringbone parquet flooring throughout. Concrete portal frames are visible, dividing the ceilings into bays. Rooms are accessed from an L-shaped corridor, and feature flush-faced timber doors with simple moulded architraves.