Ashford and Sons

Ashford and Sons, located at 16, 17, and 18 Great Hampton Street, Hockley, Birmingham, dates from 1912. This building is a particularly well-executed example of a jewellery works, combining Birmingham Arts and Crafts styling with Edwardian Baroque details. It is a three-storey structure built of red brick with Portland stone dressings. The ground floor is entirely of Portland stone.

The four-bay front has a monumental arched recess which contains the two central bays. The flanking bays project slightly from the plane of the arch. The windows are mullioned and transomed, and those on the second floor within the central arch form a large lunette. The ground floor stonework features deep horizontal grooving on the concave reveals of the window and door arches, each with a keystone. A wagon entrance is positioned within the left-hand archway, balanced by a more formal office entrance to the right, accentuated by Tuscan columns set in antis with an entablature. The keystone for this entrance is shaped as a large console. A band below the central first-floor windows displays carved stone plaques bearing the company name and date, incorporating Arts and Crafts detailing. The stone details above include shallow gables of brick and stone chequers, which feature on the aprons below the window sills.