7-11, Spencer Street

This manufactory was built around 1865-8, with minor alterations in the early 20th century. The architect is unrecorded. Constructed of red brick with painted stone dressings and blue brick detailing, it has gable and mid-pitch chimneys, coped gables, and a slate roof. The design is in the Gothic Revival style.

The plan is a shallow "U" shape, with a rectangular range facing the street and truncated workshop ranges to the rear.

The symmetrical five-bay street frontage is three storeys high, with a basement. The left-hand door has a four-panel door within a deep reveal, above which is a two-pane overlight. The doorway has a shallow-arched soffit with painted springers and keystone. The right-hand door features vertically-boarded double doors and a two-pane overlight. Five ground floor window openings are arranged 2:1:2, each with a flat head and matching arch detail to the doorways, topped by an undulating continuous hood mould. A wide, banded segmental arch is centrally placed, now with a replacement 20th-century multi-pane metal window frame. Other ground floor windows have undivided sash frames. Projecting sills are set within a painted sill band. First floor windows have more steeply cambered heads; the outer bay openings are on a stepped sill band within recessed brickwork panels. Paired inner windows and coupled centre bay windows are slightly advanced, set within a quoined surround. Upper floor windows have sill and lintel bands and shouldered heads; bays 2 and 4 have steeply pointed-arched heads to two-pane overlights, set within banded gables with moulded copings. Deeply bracketed eaves run along the top. The truncated rear ranges each have two bays and three storeys.

The ground floor interior has a passage leading from the right-hand doorway to the rear range, with doorways into offices to the left. A left-hand doorway provides access to a staircase to the upper floors. The ground floor includes office and showroom/warehouse areas with vertically-boarded walls and panelled doors.

The manufactory was completed by 1871 and originally built for the Reading family, jewellers. Around 1899, it was acquired by H. Williamson Ltd, watchmakers, who used it for the production of electro-plated goods. In 1999, the rear ranges were truncated and a rear cross-range was demolished. At that time, a stamping battery with overhead shafting was documented to survive.

The building is significant as it displays architectural and planned characteristics typical of the specialist industrial quarter of Birmingham, which is recognised as being of international importance.