Paragon Arcade

The Paragon Arcade is a shopping arcade built in 1891, designed by A Gelder of Hull, and subsequently altered in the mid and late 20th century. It is constructed of brick with moulded brick, granite, and ashlar dressings, covered by slate and glazed roofs. Brick stacks are prominent, with three gables and a single ridge, and stepped copings. The arcade is executed in a Gothic Revival style, incorporating string courses, dentillated brick eaves, and bays defined by brick pilaster strips topped with panelled ashlar.

The Paragon Street frontage is three storeys high and features four bays. An off-centre, moulded archway has a hoodmould and ornamented spandrels supported by shaft imposts. Two canted stone oriel windows are situated on the first floor to the left, each with round-arched blind balustrades, while a single similar window is positioned to the right. Above, a band between floors is inscribed with “The Paragon Arcade” in raised lettering. Above the inscription is a tripartite plain sash with a polychrome lancet head set within a coped gable. To the left of the archway are two triple round-headed lancets with polychrome heads and linked hoodmoulds, mirroring the design on the right. Late 20th-century shop fronts occupy the ground floor, one to the left and one to the right.

The Carr Lane frontage is symmetrical, also three storeys high with three bays and similar design and detailing to the Paragon Street front. The inscribed band reads “Paragon Arcade.” A 19th-century wooden shop front is situated on the left, featuring a single-pane window to the left and a recessed glazed door to the right, with a continuous toplight incorporating round arches. This shop front extends under the archway with two single-pane windows. A late 20th-century shop front occupies the right.

The interior is characterized by concrete pointed barrel vaults at each end, incorporating four pointed-arched recesses on each side. A glazed roof features delicate traceried cast-iron pointed-arched ribs. Each end is finished with a polychrome gable, each containing a quatrefoil window set in a moulded circular surround. An upper storey is banded and features seven pointed-arched wooden cross casements with traceried heads, complete with moulded sills and linked hoodmoulds. Below, nine shop fronts are separated by gabled glazed brick pilasters, displaying traceried toplights, billeted cornices, and six shop fronts at the Paragon Street end have been reglazed with fanlights and 20th-century fascias.