52, Albion Street

BIRMINGHAM

997/0/10434 ALBION STREET 29-APR-04 52

II Manufactory. c.1865, with late C20 alterations. Red brick with blue brick and painted dressings, brick gable chimney stacks to both roof slopes, and a Welsh slate roof covering. PLAN: Rectangular plan, with narrow rear yard, and now functionally linked to the range of workshops and offices to the right. EXTERIOR: 3 storeys, 4 bay asymmetrical street elevation with main entrance in bay 2 set between flanking windows and with vehicle entrance to bay 4 at right- hand end. Doorway set beneath shallow segmental arch, with blue brick hood mould and painted springers and keyblock. Recessed doorway with 4-panel door below 4-pane overlight. Ground and first floor windows with C20 undivided sash frames set within segmental arch-headed openings detailed to match that of the doorway. Continuous painted cill bands to ground and first floors, and smaller upper floor openings with asymmetrically sub-divided frames. These and the other frontage windows replaced earlier sash frames with margin glazing. Stepped and dentilled blue brick eaves band. Wide vehicular entrance to right side with shallow segmental arched head and C20 roller shutter. HISTORY: No. 52 is a purpose -built manufactory, which included office, showroom and workshop provision, and its first occupant was a jewellery manufacturer. In 1954, the site was purchased by the present owners,and linked to the adjacent workshops in 1979. The manufactory is a prominent component of a extensive street frontage range of C19 industrial premises , and forms a group with Nos. 54-57 Albion Street ( q.v.) A purpose -built manufactory of c. 1865 comprised of offices, workshops and showroom, forming part of a prominent street frontage range of industrial premises and displaying the distinctive characteristics of late C19 industrial architecture buildings in this manufacturing district of Birmingham, now recognised as being of international significance.