106-110, MARY STREET

This is a late 19th-century works building located on Mary Street in Sheffield. It is constructed of brick, painted and with a slate roof, featuring brick end stacks. The building has an L-shaped plan, comprising a prominent three-storey, thirteen-bay street frontage range and a shallow wing to the rear.

The Mary Street elevation presents a symmetrical design, rising from a chamfered stone plinth. A central cart entrance, spanning three bays, is defined by a rusticated segment-headed architrave with a keystone. Traces of lettering reading 'CITY WORKS' are visible through layers of paint. Side entrances have 20th-century doors and plain overlights, set within rusticated surrounds with pilasters, segmental heads and keystones. The windows, predominantly 2-light, have chamfered stone lintels and a continuous stone cill band. Rectangular panels are recessed and chamfered above the ground floor openings. First-floor windows are 2-light small-paned casements with segmental brick heads. Second-floor windows are smaller and similar in style. A raised brick band and cogged brick eaves detail complete the exterior. A canted left gable end and a four-bay projecting rear wing with a hipped roof are also present, the wing featuring a cill band and segmental brick heads to its windows.

The interior is characterized by two independently accessed workshop spaces on each floor. Staircases leading directly to the first and second-floor workshops open from the entrances on either side of the building and each workshop contains a domestic-style heating range. The ground floor workshops are accessed separately. The building holds group value with the adjacent 104 Mary Street.

This factory is a representative example of Sheffield's metal trades architecture, reflecting a possible "Little Mester" system of independent craftsmanship, a traditional feature of the city's significant metal trades during the 19th and early 20th centuries.