16, Regent Place

A purpose-built manufactory and offices was constructed in 1910 by J.G. Dunn, of Birmingham, for E.L. Gyde, a jeweller. It is located within Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter and is a notable example of the Edwardian Arts and Crafts Free style. The building is of smooth red brick with terracotta dressings and detailing. The plan is an elongated L-shape, situated on a narrow plot, with a multi-storey workshop range at the rear enclosing a narrow yard.

The front elevation is three bays wide and three storeys high, with a basement level. The entrance bay, to the left, is defined by shallow pilasters and features an open segmental pediment. The doorway has half-glazed double doors beneath a four-pane overlight, set within a moulded terracotta surround with a flat joggled lintel below a wide segmental hood. Above the doorway is an oculus with a hood mould and a small-paned window frame and then a low, three-light window and a pair of narrow six-pane lights at the stair landing levels. To the right, two bays have a plainer form, again defined by shallow pilasters, with basement windows beneath flat joggled lintels. A small-paned cast-iron window frame with a four-pane pivot light is on the left-hand side, while the right-hand light is blocked. Elevated ground floor windows have infilled segmental arched heads, and timber mullion and transom window frames. The first and second floor openings have the same frames set beneath metal lintels. A shallow dentilled parapet sits between the pilasters, which also carry moulded hopper heads to the downpipes.

The rear workshop range has seven bays with wide, multi-pane metal window frames set beneath segmental brick arches, except for the upper-floor openings, which have flat brick heads. Stacked doorways are linked by an external metal stair to bay six. A small, multi-storey toilet block extends southwards from the east end of the workshop.

The interior was not inspected.

Original plans from 1909 show that the front street range contained multi-storey office accommodation, while the rear area was designed for warehousing. The rear 'shopping' area had an open plan form to all floors, and there were two multi-flue chimney stacks within the north side wall. The yard stair and doorways to each workshop level suggest that the site was designed for multiple occupancy. The building forms a group with numbers 12, 14, 22, 24 and 26 Regent Place.

The building displays the distinctive characteristics associated with late 19th and early 20th century manufactories in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, now recognised as an historic manufacturing district of international significance. Minor alterations were made in the late 20th century.