Castle Buildings

Castle Buildings

Offices of steamship owners and brokers, completed in 1900 and designed by B S Jacobs of Kingston upon Hull. The building is constructed in mellow red brick with ashlar dressings and a slate roof, predominantly two storeys in height and executed in Renaissance Revival style.

The building occupies the junction of Waterhouse Lane and Castle Street, presenting a curved western corner frontage. It is approached through an entrance hall with rooms to the north east and north west, and a stair hall located off the south corner. The adjoining building at 13 and 14 Castle Street, attached to the southern corner, is excluded from this listing as it is not considered of special interest.

The pitched and hipped slate roofs feature substantial ridge stacks. The principal elevations comprise five two-storey bays along Waterhouse Lane and six bays curving around the corner frontage, the last three of which rise to three storeys.

Windows are largely mullioned and transomed with plain and leaded glazing, some damaged. They are surrounded by ashlar incorporating random quoining, with further ashlar dressings including sill bands, floating cornices to some windows, paired bands at mid-height, and lintel bands to ground-floor and stair windows on the southern side.

The main entrance in the left-hand bay of the three-storey section consists of a tall and elaborate Classical ashlar doorcase with an enriched frieze and pediment framing an arched doorway with richly carved spandrels and recessed eight-panel double doors (one of which has been removed and is stored in the entrance hall). A plainer secondary entrance occupies the right-hand bay. Above the main entrance is a large rectangular window with two tall stair windows to its right; the left stair window has curved glazing bars in its lower part. The second floor contains mullioned windows to each bay.

The two-storey bays feature cross windows and larger mullioned and transomed windows to each floor; upper-floor windows have lights with rounded heads. Rear elevations facing a small yard area have windows with segmental-arched red-brick heads. A single-storey lean-to and tall chimneystack, formerly shown on Ordnance Survey maps, have been demolished, as has an isolated toilet block which is excluded from the listing.

Interior finishes include plain moulded cornicing, a parquet floor to the ground-floor main office, and a patterned tessarae floor in the entrance hall. Most floorboards have been removed and replaced with ply sheeting over joists. Fireplaces have been removed from all levels, though chimneybreasts survive. The building retains cast-iron radiators, some built-in cupboards, dado panelling to certain areas, four-panel and six-panel doors, and moulded door and window architraves.

The entrance hall has lost its original panelled dado and wainscoting. A tall arched opening to the right, fitted with a later glazed screen incorporating frosted glass depicting ships and sail boats, leads into the stair hall. A doorway to the left, bearing faded signage reading "GENERAL OFFICE" and "ENQUIRIES", leads into a large former office.

The ground floor comprises a series of inter-linked offices, those at the western corner being more formal spaces. A large main office occupying most of the Waterhouse Lane block, probably originally the general clerk's office, is now open-plan with cast-iron columns and three offices set along the north-west side separated by partly-glazed panelled screens and partitions. A waiting area and enquiries kiosk with panelled walls and serving hatch occupies the south corner of the main office and provides direct access to the entrance hall. A former office at the south-western end has been enlarged and converted into a vault.

The main stair hall is located at the south corner of the building, accessed from the entrance hall. It contains a sweeping partly-cantilevered stair with panelled newel posts capped with ball finials, providing access to the first floor. The closed string and balustrade have been removed from the lowest flight, while the balustrade is boxed-in to the upper flights. A later inserted doorway with a short flight of steps connects the main stair to the first floor of neighbouring 14 Castle Street. A narrow attic-like stair on the first-floor landing, with newel posts matching those of the main stair, provides access to two second-floor rooms above the stair hall.

The first floor consists of a series of offices, one at the south-west corner possibly a boardroom, retaining some wall panelling. Above the main office is a similarly sized space without the separate partitioned offices along the north-west wall. The two second-floor rooms contain fixed shelving units.