Barbourne Works

Barbourne Works is a factory built in 1898. Designed by the London architect R.A. Briggs for W.E. Tucker and Co, a printing company, it is located on Northwick Avenue in Worcester. The building is constructed of red brick in an English bond, with an internal steel frame. Limestone ashlar is used for the keystones, central bay, and cornice. The roof is hipped and covered in clay tiles.

The building was planned with factory offices, for customers, design, and administration, positioned at the front of the printing works. The architectural style is Domestic Revival, executed in a robust Edwardian manner. It is three storeys high. The facade is arranged with a 4:3:4 fenestration pattern, featuring flat keyed arches over 6/6-pane sash windows. A prominent three-window stone bay sits at the center. A Gibbs surround and paired Tuscan columns frame the entrance, with a central keyblock supporting a broken pediment containing a cartouche. The sashes above are framed by Ionic pilasters on the first floor and Corinthian pilasters on the second floor, with carved stone aprons depicting swags. A segmental pediment above another cartouche frames a round window in the tympanum. A dentilled cornice runs along the top. Dormers with leaded casements flank the central bay. The return elevations have a similar six-window fenestration and the same cornice, incorporating projecting stair towers to the rear. Later elevations to the rear have been altered and extended in the mid to late 20th century. The interior has not been inspected.

The front block of the building is a good example of the late Domestic Revival and Edwardian styles applied to factory architecture. Briggs also designed the chapel of 1896 at Battenhall Mount. Architectural plans, Plan No. 2550 for the City of Worcester, were received on 22 January 1898.