East block to Birmingham Accident Hospital

The east block of the former Birmingham Accident Hospital, built around 1840-41 by architects Bateman and Drury, is a purpose-built hospital on a rectangular plan with a prominent late Regency-style front elevation. It is three storeys high with a basement, arranged in a 2:3:2 bay layout, with the central three bays set back. The construction is primarily red brick, with an ashlar basement and a ground floor featuring channelled detailing up to the first-floor sill band. A stucco frieze sits below a projecting eaves cornice, and the roof is covered with slate. The windows are sash windows with glazing bars. The ground-floor windows have panelled sill zones. First-floor windows are accentuated by applied parapet sections with breaks in the sill band on consoles, and shallow pediments above, supported on consoles. The central three windows are framed by pilasters. The top-floor windows are square with flat, gauged arches. A large, stuccoed, tripartite porch with a flight of steps leads up through the central bay of the ground floor. The porch has a deep, plain entablature with a projecting cornice and a blocking course, topped by the achievement of arms. Later additions to the rear of the building are not considered to be of particular architectural interest. The building possesses group value in this context.