37, 37A & 38, VYSE STREET

This building, located at 37, 37A, and 38 Vyse Street in Birmingham, is a range of shops and workshops that were originally houses built in 1848, with later extensions added in the late 19th century and further alterations in the late 20th century. The structure is made of red brick, with a roughcast and painted ground floor, and features painted stone dressings and a composition slate roof.

The building has an irregular U-shaped plan, consisting of a two-storey frontage range with six bays. The central area has four grouped doorways set within a wide advanced surround, flanked by Ionic columns. Above the columns, there is a wide stepped display fascia. The doors are located within panelled reveals and have rectangular overlights with margin glazing. On either side of the doorways are two-light windows with undivided sash frames set within moulded architraves, serving as shop display windows. The outer doorways lead to shop entrances with four-panel doors, while the inner doorways provide access to staircases leading to upper floor workshops. The upper floor features six windows, each set on a painted cill band, with moulded lintels and shallow bracketed cornices above undivided sash windows. The rear of the building includes a two-storey workshop range on the southern and western sides of a small courtyard.

Historically, this range appears to have been developed as two houses intended for four occupants, as indicated by the 1889 Ordnance Survey map, which shows extensive rear workshop additions. The building forms a group with No. 38 Vyse Street and Nos. 40 and 41 Vyse Street. It represents a pair of mid-19th century houses that were designed for multiple occupancy but were quickly adapted and extended for industrial use, with significant surviving rear workshop areas. The buildings are part of a prominent and boldly detailed development of domestic properties on a street that has largely transitioned to works premises, situated within a specialist manufacturing quarter of Birmingham that is now recognized for its international significance.