Former Blue Bird Toffee Factory: Welfare Building

Former factory canteen and assembly rooms of 1925-7 constructed to the designs of S N Cooke for Harry Vincent Limited.

MATERIALS: constructed of red brick, with stone dressings. The north end has a concrete arched-beam roof. The roof is covered in slate and concrete tiles. The interior has glazed tiling to corridors, lobbies and bathrooms, and early-C20 joinery throughout including casements and doors with metal fittings. There are floorboards to the corridors and wood-block to the formal room at the north end. The open arcades to the front have stone-flagged floors.

PLAN: it is constructed on a north-east/ south-west orientation and is of single-storey with a mezzanine level at the north-east end, which is a former stage that has been partitioned from the main hall.

EXTERIOR: the building is set well back from the road behind a lawn. The principal elevation has a central gable with a clock to an open pediment and open arcades to each side under a deep pitched roof with central bell turret. At each end are cross wings with hipped roofs. The elevations have brick pilasters and openings with brick heads and timber casements and doors. The rear elevation has four entrance lobbies of differing plans, and that to the main entrance incorporates washrooms. The left roof slope has seven dormers under pyramidal roofs.

INTERIOR: the main lobby with tiled washrooms to each side leads into the principal arch-braced room (former concert hall) in the north half of the building. This has blank arches to each end and the lower sections of the walls and window ledges are covered in glazed tiles. The arch to the north wall is above the enclosed opening to the stage and has lower-level fitted cupboards that give access to a basement storage area below. Above is a mezzanine level at the north end of the building, formerly the stage. The mezzanine level is accessed via tiled lobbies and stairs to each corner. The former concert hall has late-C20 partitioning forming office and lobby spaces. The southern end of the room has been enclosed and there is further office partitioning of late-C20 towards the central section of the building. The southern half of the building has various rooms and spaces, in part created with glazed partitions. The doors, other joinery and tiling to corridors are all of 1920s date. At the south end of the building is a formal room with picture rails.