Steel City House

SHEFFIELD

SK3587SW WEST STREET 784-1/24/751 (North West side) 17/11/92 Nos.6-18 (even) Steel City House (Formerly Listed as: WEST STREET Steel City House)

GV II

Telephone exchange, incorporating post office, shops and bank, now offices. 1927, with mid and late C20 alterations. By HT Rees for HM Office of Works. Steel frame with Portland stone cladding and dressings, and flat roofs. Classical Revival style. EXTERIOR: plinth, ground floor cornice, dentilled main cornice and blocking course. 2 and 3 storeys; 9 window range. Triangular island site with rounded corners. Windows are mainly metal framed casements, with bronze framing to the ground floor. West Street front has central range, 7 windows, flanked by slightly projecting pedimented end pavilions. Upper floors are divided by giant Doric pilasters, with 3 cross casements superimposed in each bay. Below, mid C20 metal framed doors and flanking windows, with continuous smaller windows above. End pavilions have similar fenestration to the centre bays, plus a segmental pediment to the central window. On the ground floor, to left, a moulded doorway with cornice and overlight, and to right, 3 superimposed glazing bar windows. Main entrance corner bay, to right, has 3 sets of 3 superimposed windows. Central window centre light has a pediment on scroll brackets. Centre lights of the flanking windows have cornices. All these windows have margin glazing. Below, recessed semicircular portico with 2 massive fluted Doric columns, covering a moulded stone surround with cornice, containing pedimented wooden doorcase with fluted columns and glazed double doors. Above, a glazing bar overlight, and above the cornice, a margin glazed overlight. On either side, a late C20 window and above it, a smaller window. In front of the doors, wrought-iron gates with openwork piers. Pinfold Street front, to right, 7 windows, has similar fenestration and pedimented end bays. Ground floor has central round-arched ashlar doorway with double keystone and overlight, flanked by various windows and doors. Holly Street front, 5 windows, has 3 centre windows divided by pilasters and projecting end bays with segmental pediments to the central windows. INTERIOR: former bank at main entrance has pilastered walls and enriched cross beam ceiling with moulded cornice, carried on 4 square piers with anthemion capitals. (Sheffield Telegraph 07/03/1927: Sheffield; Sheffield Daily Independent 07/03/1927).

Listing NGR: SK3516587379