Kingstone Store

Kingstone Store is a Grade II listed building located on Belgrave Gate in Leicester. Built in 1937 by architect Raymond McGrath for Sir Charles Keene, it features a steel frame with reinforced concrete front walls and brick rear walls, topped with a flat roof. The building has an L-shaped plan with a wing at the rear and showcases three storeys of continuous curtain wall glazing made of pink Vitrolite glass, held in place by copper strips. A projecting canopy extends over the ground floor. The rear of the building was rendered in the late 20th century.

Inside, the store retains an open plan layout, with ceilings supported by square piers and round ones at the front. There is an open-well staircase leading from the ground to the second floor, and the original offices have been removed. There are occasional archways connecting to the adjoining buildings, which are now part of the store but are not of special architectural interest. This building is notable as one of the few surviving works by McGrath and is only the second known example of curtain walling in the UK, being the first without intervening mullions. McGrath co-authored 'Glass in Architecture and Decoration' published in 1937, and he also designed a house for the same client in Gaulby, Leicestershire, which is listed in that parish.