53 And 55, Leeds Road Bd1

Nos 53 and 55 on Leeds Road are a warehouse and office building located at the corner of Vicar Lane, part of the "Little Germany" mercantile precinct. Designed by architect Eli Milnes in 1862, No 55 is a slightly later extension that matches the original style. The building features four tall storeys made of ashlar sandstone, with a rusticated vermiculated basement. The corner of the building is bowed and slightly inset, with sill bands and a bracket cornice above the raised ground floor. There is a heavy console bracket cornice over the third floor, a frieze, and a moulded eaves cornice. A section of pierced parapet is located between the chimneys at the corner. The ground floor windows are awkwardly arched and linked by an impost string, with cartouches set in the spandrels facing Leeds Road. The first floor windows are adorned with pilaster strips and cornices on console brackets. The entrance to No 53 features an engaged Doric columned doorway with a deep full entablature, while No 55 has a similar pilastered doorway. Above No 55, a five-storey tower with quoin pilasters connects the two facades and marks the slight change in angle of the building line. The first floor includes a pilastered oriel bow window, paired round-headed lights on the upper floor, and a top stage with clock faces, all supported by paired consoles. The right-hand elevation of No 55 features pedimented oeuil de boeuf dormers above the third floor cornice. This richly designed Italianate building occupies an important corner site.