8 And 10, Benson Street

SJ 3590 SW BENSON STREET

54/185 Nos. 8 and 10

14.3.75 G.V. II

House and attached warehouse. 1844-8 with later C19 and C20 alterations. Empty at time of inspection (July 2000. Attributed to Arthur Hill Holme, architect, of Liverpool, for Samuel and James Holme, building contractors. Ashlar sandstone and red brick, with a slated roof. PLAN: Elongated T-plan with Warren Street frontage to dwelling, and the rear warehousing range extending north-eastwards from rear of house part. FRONT: 2 storey range of 3 bays, with cornice to ground floor, a cill band at first floor level and an upper frieze and pediment. Ground floor with 3 semi-circular headed windows, now overboarded, with panelled aprons and with flanking doors in projecting flat architraves with pediments. First floor windows have architraves, that to the centre window flat, with Greek hood and acroteria. Tympanum to upper pediment has foliated decoration and 3 acroteria. Panelled parapet with 4 finials. REAR: Elongated elevation with canted end to house, and 2 bays extending to south-east. To north-west, a further narrow domestic bay, retaining some sash frames and then a warehouse range of 3 storeys, the first 5 bays built as a storeyed range, with double taking in doors to each floor at the south-east end. A further 8 bays extend from this, originally a single-storeyed timber storage shed, with tall arched openings to the yard, now infilled with metal window frames, and with added upper storeys. INTERIOR: Much damaged by water ingress and vandalism, but retaining most of the original floor plan in the house part, with fragments of decorative plasterwork, some panelled doors and the base of the stair structure giving some feeling of the original interior. Parts of the ground floor are of fireproof construction, with brick jack arches rising from Hodgekinson metal beams. Interior of warehouse range retains roof trusses within the ground floor of the end 8 bays, which were formerly single-storeyed. These now support the upper floor structure. HISTORY: The house and warehouse range was built for Samuel and James Holme, building contactors. They were Liverpool's premiere building company at this time, and were the contractors for the St Georges Hall, and the designers of the County Sessions House on William Brown Street.

Listing NGR: SJ3520790065