Hepworth's Arcade

Hepworth's Arcade is a shopping arcade built in 1894 by the architects Gelder and Kitchen, designed in the Flemish Renaissance style. It has undergone mid- and late-twentieth-century alterations. The building is constructed in brick, ashlar, slate, glass, iron and steel.

The arcade follows an L-shaped plan, running from Silver Street to Market Place, with street-frontage buildings at each end. It occupies a prominent corner site with elevations facing both Market Place to the east and Silver Street to the north. Each elevation rises three storeys plus an attic and basement level, built in brick with ashlar dressing. Behind these facades runs an L-shaped iron and glass barrel-vaulted arcade roof. The two arms of the arcade meet at a central octagonal glazed dome, topped with a small glazed cupola. Pitched slate shop roofs are attached on either side of the arcade roof.

The Market Place elevation comprises four bays and features an off-centre arcade entrance with a wide shopfront to the north and a much narrower shopfront to the south, both with recessed entrance doors. The late-nineteenth-century shopfronts and arcade entrances are flanked by wooden pilasters; those beside the arcade entrance are panelled, whilst the outer pilasters are fluted and panelled with Ionic capitals, all terminated by substantial moulded brackets supporting a deep entablature with moulded and dentillated cornice. The arcade entrance itself has a moulded and keyed cast-iron segmental arch with sliding lattice gates containing a spoked fanlight, with foliated interlacing stem spandrels and a soffit decorated with acanthus leaf mouldings. Above the ground floor rises a central pair of two-storey oriel windows with rounded corners and a foliated stone string band between them, containing mullion and transom lights. The first-floor oriels feature elaborate swan neck pediments decorated with orange fruit swag drops, a moulded entablature and cornice with swagged panels. Each window has a keyed round-headed light set between the upper transoms and decorative strapwork panels to the sill band. The second-floor oriels have a simple moulded entablature and cornice decorated with a stylised shell. The outer bays contain keyed round-headed windows with rusticated voussoirs; on the second floor these are segmental-headed windows in similar style, all containing plate-glass horned sashes. The bays at first and second floor are separated by panelled pilasters with Corinthian imposts. At attic level are two central dormer windows flanked by balustrading with pedestals and finials to each outer bay. Each dormer contains a pair of six-over-one sash windows set within moulded and keyed surrounds, with an ornate swan-necked pediment above. Behind and concealed from view is a pitched slate roof with two brick ridge end stacks.

The Silver Street elevation to the north comprises seven bays with detailing similar to the Market Place elevation, though with some variations. The ground floor has a central arcade archway flanked by two symmetrical late-twentieth-century shopfronts. Above is a single central two-storey oriel window topped by a swan-neck pediment with a garland swag and dentilled cornice. The three outer bays to each side have keyed round-headed windows at first-floor level and segmental-headed windows at second-floor level, with rusticated voussoirs. The windows are separated by marble half-shafts with Corinthian capitals and contain horned plate-glass sashes. The attic has a single central pedimented dormer with finials; some decorative panelwork to the pediment has been lost. Behind is a pitched roof with two end corner stacks to the rear.

The interior comprises a two-storey L-shaped arcade running north to south then east, connecting Silver Street to Market Place. It is covered by an iron and glass barrel-vaulted roof with decorated and pierced transverse cast-iron arches meeting at a central glazed octagon. Along both sides of the arcade are fine arcade shopfronts, some now combined, with cast-iron arcade lighting. The ground-floor shopfronts incorporate pilasters with a painted marble effect, pulvinated base and moulded capital topped by a fluted console decorated with a painted garland swag, with a continuous moulded cornice above. Shop windows have large glazed panes with toplights and a decorative ventilation band, whilst entrance doors feature a decorative architrave and toplight with a two-panel door (the upper panel glazed) and original brass door fittings. One blind shop bay (number 21) in the eastern arcade bears an advertisement for J Hepworth & Sons with the inscription: J. HEPWORTH & SON / LIMITED / ARE THE GREAT XL / TAILORS & CLOTHIERS.

The first floor is separated into bays by plain pilasters with foliated capitals and a blind parapet with pedestals beneath and a moulded cornice above. Within each bay are a pair of outer fluted pilasters and an alternating pair of inner fluted pilasters or engaged columns with acanthus leaf torus (all with painted marble effect). These support an entablature with fluted triglyphs above each pilaster and floral frieze panels. Most bays contain timber two-light windows between columns or pilasters, arranged in groups of three.

At the intersection of the arcade arms, the ground floor has a bowed south-west shopfront with doorways on the west and south sides leading to the covered Trinity Market. These have rusticated round-headed doorways supported on fluted pilasters, with glazed overlights and panelled architraves. The octagonal dome has a first-floor balustraded parapet to the west and south, with the south-west corner bowed. The first-floor balcony contains wooden panelled doors with toplights and a continuous floral frieze.

The north and east ends of the arcade feature a wide pedestrian entrance running through the buildings facing Silver Street and Market Place. The inner wall has a keystone four-centred arch with panelled spandrels and jambs. At first-floor level is a blind parapet with pedestals and raised green lettering reading HEPWORTH'S ARCADE. Above are four wooden glazed windows and a garlanded and foliated frieze set below a sunburst and panelled barrel-vault end.