Former British Home Stores Building and Carphone Warehouse

This building is a former department store and retail premises, constructed between 1951 and 1955 by George Coles of London for British Home Stores (BHS), with retail premises for Dolcis added in 1955 by their staff architect, Ellis Somake.

The building is built on a reinforced concrete frame, faced with Blockley City Mixture brick in a stretcher bond pattern. It is detailed with reconstituted stone dressings.

The building forms the south-east block of the Precinct crossing, with the former BHS store facing the Upper Precinct and extending along Market Way. The Carphone Warehouse occupies the north-west corner of the building.

The north front, which faces the Upper Precinct, has five structural bays. At ground floor level, there are shop fronts providing access to the former BHS store and the former Dolcis, now a Carphone Warehouse. These are separated by piers clad in granite and Hornton stone. Above the shop fronts is a continuous concrete canopy that extends the full length of the Precinct and Market Way elevations, and partially along the rear, south elevation. The canopy was originally adorned with circular glass rooflights, now painted over, and is clad in Westmorland slate; it formerly featured extending sun blinds, with metal frames concealed within its edge, and some of these remain.

The upper floors of the north front feature five central windows extending through the first and second floors, flanked by pairs of windows on each floor at both ends; all are edged in reconstituted stone dressings. The Market Way elevation, originally housing Dolcis, has a large, five-bay curtain wall of glass and Vitrolite panels, with a projecting surround of reconstituted stone. Slots in the canopy allowed the windows to align continuously with the shopfronts below. Beyond this, two rows of seven smaller windows are set within projecting surrounds, before the building steps down in height. The former BHS shop front continues here, and the upper floors are divided into seven bays framed by chamfered vertical piers clad in Westmorland slate, and a continuous projecting slate cornice along the wall head. Each bay contains rows of metal windows in stone surrounds with slate mullions.

The rear elevation is largely brick, with window and service openings, and some blind windows. A row of alternating recessed and projecting brick sections is located at the Market Way end.

The interior of the former BHS store has been largely refitted and is mostly open. Sections of possibly original decorative tiling are concealed behind later shop fittings. Original handrails remain on the stairs, including those serving the second-floor customer restaurant area and the toilets above. The rear service areas are utilitarian and include rooflights of glass bricks which have been covered. The former cash office retains timber panelling. The interior of the former Dolcis store has been refitted.