Bridgewater House

Bridgewater House is a shipping warehouse that has been converted into offices, built in 1912 by Harry S. Fairhurst. The building features a steel frame with cladding made of sandstone ashlar and white glazed terracotta, with the roof concealed. It has a large rectangular plan and includes a loading bay at the rear. The architectural style is eclectic, standing eight storeys tall with a basement and comprising 19 bays arranged symmetrically.

The first two floors are constructed of stone and designed to resemble rustic stonework, featuring channelled rusticated piers, a moulded frieze, and a prominent cornice with modillions. The upper floors are clad in white glazed terracotta, with the second floor showcasing a notable panelled cornice supported by coupled brackets. The next four floors include tiered canted bay windows in alternate bays, topped by a main cornice that is interrupted at the centre by a five-bay penthouse with pilastered end bays and a parapet with an upstand.

The ground floor is characterized by a massive sill-band over rock-faced piers at the basement level. Square-headed entrances are located between the 6th and 9th bays and the 14th and 17th bays, featuring doorways with profile medallions of the Duke of Bridgewater on the lintels and three-light overlights at the first-floor level. The ground and first floors have metal-framed windows, with bronze panels in between. The upper floors contain square windows, except for the canted bays, and various decorative elements such as geometric panels, fasces, wreaths, and corrupt-leaf pendants.

The return sides of the building have two bays that match the main style, including a monogram at the sixth-floor level, and continue in a plain rectilinear grid form. The building forms a group with the Palace Theatre to the left, the Refuge Assurance Buildings, and India House opposite. The interior has not been inspected.