Former Workshop Range Of Fenton Murray And Jackson

This is a complex of former workshop ranges, dating from 1797 onwards, with substantial rebuilding between 1847 and 1877. They were originally built for Matthew Murray as part of his engineering complex on Foundry Street, Holbeck, Leeds, and are now used as small industrial and storage premises.

The buildings are constructed of brown brick, incorporating English garden wall and random bonds, with white painted details and slate roofs. The range consists of three distinct builds, opening onto Foundry Street and backing onto a former saw mill and joiners’ shop.

The north range has six tall windows with multi-panes, each with a cambered brick arch. To the left end are two flat-arched windows, and there is one narrow and one wide doorway. Two openings on the far right have been altered. A projecting stone band is visible at raised door sill height, with a higher stone window sill band. Gutter brackets are present. An infill block at the north end abuts No.105 Water Lane and has two altered multi-pane windows with curved brick surrounds and a blocked doorway.

The middle range includes five windows: a pair, one of which has been blocked, of a domestic style, with one surviving 16-pane sash in a flush wood frame and a wedge lintel. There are three tall multi-pane windows with cambered and flat brick arches. Two doorways have raised sills; a short section of stone sill band is visible, with a change in the brick coursing to the left of the right-hand door.

The south range consists of eight original multi-pane windows, two of which are blocked, and three segmental brick-arched double doorways. The left doorway retains plank double doors and a pedestrian entrance. Three windows are present to the left, one of which has been altered to a doorway. A first-floor loading door is located below a double header-brick arch, with steps to the left. This three-window range (No.14) extends approximately three bays to the rear and is roofed at a right angle to the road.

Historically, the north range housed turning and boring shops, containing cylinder borers, powered by a steam engine located at the south end. The central range contained a boiler house, an arched entrance to the rear joinery yard, and a store. The south range served as the pattern shop. The brickwork indicates alterations and rebuilding from the mid-19th century, following the original wall lines. The straight join and stop in the stone band indicates the position of the entry, while the sash window suggests the former store rooms. The interior of the buildings has not been inspected.