Birkin Building

The Birkin Building is a lace warehouse that has been converted into a club and offices. It was built in 1855 by architect T.C. Hine for lace manufacturer Richard Birkin and constructed by Garland & Holland. The building underwent restoration and conversion around 1987. It features red brick with an ashlar ground floor and dressings, and is designed in the Italianate style.

The exterior includes a plinth, ground floor cornice, string course, and eaves cornice. The building is four storeys high and has a total of 24 windows arranged in an L-shape that follows the curve of the street. Most of the windows are original round-arched lights with stone mullions, glazing bars, and hood moulds. The ground floor windows have moulded surrounds and aprons.

The main entrance, facing east, has a central projecting bay with a canted tower porch that is three storeys tall and features double doors. Above this entrance are bay windows with three lights, followed by a double window. Each side of the entrance has single windows on each floor, with a rounded corner to the right and a concave corner to the left that has two windows.

The left return, facing north, has an entrance bay with a central segment-arched cart entrance that has an inscribed ribbon above it. Above this entrance are triple windows on each floor, and beneath the arch is a reset two-light window from the 12th century, originally from St Mary's Church, along with a plaque displaying the Plumptre arms. The sides of this return feature canted bay windows that are three storeys high, each with three lights; the left bay includes a shouldered double doorway with shafts. Above these bays are double windows, and to the right is a range with regular fenestration consisting of five windows.

Inside, the building was refitted around 1987 and features cast-iron columns supporting wooden floor beams. The Birkin Building stands on the site of Plumptre House, which was built in 1730 by Colen Campbell and demolished in 1853. It is a significant example of Hine's commercial architecture.