Steel City House

Steel City House is a telephone exchange, incorporating a post office, shops, and a bank, now offices, built in 1927. It was designed by HT Rees for the HM Office of Works. The building is constructed with a steel frame, faced with Portland stone cladding and dressings, and has flat roofs. It is executed in a Classical Revival style.

The exterior has a plinth, a ground floor cornice, a dentilled main cornice, and a blocking course. It is two and three storeys high, with a nine-window range. The building occupies a triangular island site with rounded corners. The windows are mainly metal framed casements, with bronze framing to the ground floor. The West Street front features a central range of seven windows, flanked by slightly projecting, pedimented end pavilions. Upper floors are divided by giant Doric pilasters, with three cross casements superimposed in each bay. The mid 20th century saw the introduction of metal framed doors and flanking windows to the ground floor, with continuous smaller windows above. The end pavilions have similar fenestration to the centre bays, plus segmental pediments above the central windows. A moulded doorway with a cornice and overlight is on the left side of the ground floor, and three superimposed glazing bar windows are on the right. The main entrance corner bay, to the right, contains three sets of three superimposed windows. The centre light of the central window has a pediment on scroll brackets, and the centre lights of the flanking windows have cornices. All these windows have margin glazing. A recessed semicircular portico features two massive fluted Doric columns, covering a moulded stone surround with a cornice, and incorporates a pedimented wooden doorcase with fluted columns and glazed double doors. Above the portico is a glazing bar overlight, and above the cornice another margin glazed overlight. Wrought-iron gates with openwork piers stand in front of the doors. The Pinfold Street front, to the right, mirrors the West Street front in design. The Holly Street front, with five windows, has three central windows divided by pilasters, and projecting end bays with segmental pediments above the central windows.

Inside, the former bank at the main entrance retains pilastered walls and an enriched cross beam ceiling with a moulded cornice, supported by four square piers with anthemion capitals. Newspaper articles from 1927 describe the building’s construction.