Art Gallery And Museum

The Art Gallery and Museum in Wolverhampton is a Grade II* listed building constructed between 1883 and 1885 by J.A. Chatwin of Birmingham. It is designed in the Italianate style and features a symmetrical composition with two storeys and a basement, constructed of ashlar with some polished granite and topped with a slate roof.

The building's façade includes a dressed stone basement with a plinth, channelled rustication, and a cornice on the ground floor. The basement has sashed windows, while the ground floor features segmental-headed plate-glass windows with architraves. The first floor is adorned with panels that have relief friezes depicting famous figures in science and art. The central section of the façade has a porch supported by paired granite Doric columns and features a round-headed entrance. Above this, there is a Venetian window with decorative rosettes, a console keystone, and foliate spandrels. Flanking the central feature are paired granite Ionic columns that support a forward break in the entablature, which is further enhanced by a panel with paired pilasters, an open pediment, a cartouche, and foliage.

The terminal features of the building break forward and include niches with segmental pediments on the ground floor, while paired Ionic columns above support the forward break in the entablature. The area has a balustrade, and there is a bowed angle bay with a window similar to the central feature, but with blind side lights and a similar niche above. The façade facing the churchyard mirrors this design, with a three-bay centerpiece flanked by six windows. The central entrance is again flanked by paired Doric columns, with side bays featuring segmental-headed windows on the ground floor and round-headed windows above.

The rear of the building is plain, with a gabled range to the right that has large first-floor windows. Inside, there is a staircase with a wrought-iron balustrade and panelled walls, along with top-lit first-floor galleries. The building was originally constructed for the Wolverhampton Exhibition.