Powick Mills

This is a former hydro-electricity works dating to 1894, with a 20th-century extension. It was designed by WH Preece, FRS, the consulting engineer, and built by T Rowbotham of Birmingham for Worcester Corporation. It was converted into housing in 1999.

The building is constructed of blue brick in the basement, with red brick and buff brick panels, and has a corrugated asbestos roof with a truncated ridge stack on the right and a large, tall, moulded chimney on the left end. It is arranged in an L-shape, with a range extending over the river and a further office wing on the right end, with a projecting 20th-century extension on the left. The building is primarily a single storey with a basement. A triple-span roof has wide gables facing, the right-hand span containing the entrance - double-panelled doors leading up a ramp with a blocked overlight, set within a round brick arch with a keystone. Tall pilasters are located on either side and are flanked by a tall, round-arched multi-pane window within a slightly recessed panel. Above the window is a wide plaque inscribed 'City of Worcester Electricity Works 1894' with the city's coat of arms. The 20th-century extension projects forward on the left. To the left are two spans with blocked round windows in moulded and panelled gables; the walls below were originally of three windows, now mostly blocked with a 20th-century extension to the front. To the right is a two-storey section with a two-window arrangement featuring sash windows and a five-panel door with an overlight and pediment to the left, and a simpler door to the right. Similar arched windows are found to the rear of the main ranges, with round arches in the basement below. The range spanning the river originally housed three turbines. Breakwaters are present on the upstream side, now partly filled in. The range alongside the river was the boiler house, with a chimney on the left end, which is now a prominent landmark; steam power was used to supplement the nighttime electricity load.

The interior has been remodelled as housing and was not inspected.

Historically, Worcester was the largest 19th-century hydro-electric public-supply works in Britain, with a water-generated capacity of nearly 400KW. The city was the first municipality to build and operate its own hydro-electric power station for a long period.

The building is a remarkable and early example of the electricity industry, noteworthy for its strong external character and survival in a national context.