West Haven Maltings And Garth Buildings

West Haven Maltings and Garth Buildings, Grimsby

A complex of maltings and warehouses now partly occupied by shop and sports clubs, situated on the south side of Garth Lane fronting the West Haven. The buildings comprise a late 18th-century maltings and warehouse range, with later 19th-century barley kiln and loading-bay ranges added subsequently.

The structures are constructed of brown and red brick. The roofing is varied: the kiln range has a 20th-century slate roof, the maltings range has a 20th-century weatherboarded north gable with a concrete tile roof, while the loading-bay range retains its original Welsh slate roof.

The complex is rectangular on plan, with the kiln range positioned at the west end. The buildings range from 2 to 3 storeys in height.

The kiln range on the south side comprises a tall 2-storey section with 2 windows at ground floor. One window has plain glazing beneath a segmental brick arch; the other is a later alteration with 4 panes in a wood surround. The first-floor windows are smaller with stone sills and segmental arches, one containing 3 vertical lights and the other plain glazing. A tall hipped roof with a hipped ventilator section crowns the range. The Garth Lane frontage has a 20th-century inserted garage door to the right, a single ground-floor window, and a pair of first-floor windows matching those on the riverside front.

Adjoining to the east is a long range of approximately 16 bays with irregular fenestration. Originally 2 storeys throughout, the western 4-window section adjoining the kiln has been raised to 3 storeys. The south river front features large double loading doors beneath a lintel and a first-floor loading door to the right. Windows vary in size, with those at ground level generally smaller than upper-storey windows. The left 7 bays have more regular fenestration with 6-pane windows; most windows have sills beneath segmental brick arches. The 3-storey section has a roof hipped to the left and half-hipped to the right above a weatherboarded gable, while the adjoining 2-storey section has a pitched roof subdivided by a raised brick-coped gable and hipped at the east end.

The Garth Lane frontage of the main range contains 2 sets of double board doors, windows with sills and glazing bars beneath segmental arches, and a first-floor door to the taller southern section. A single-storey loading-bay range adjoins to the north-east, featuring a raised double door flanked by single segmental-arched barred windows, a large sliding door, and a double board door beneath timber lintels. The eaves are stepped and the roof is hipped to the left. Above the sliding door is an enamel nameplate inscribed "Garth Buildings".

A later 2-storey range adjoins to the north but is not of special interest.

The interior of the maltings and warehouse range contains queen-strut roof trusses with long tie beams. The interior of the barley kiln was not inspected.

Historically, West Haven was Grimsby's early port, before dock extensions to the north were created from 1800 onwards.