Administrative Block And Children'S Ward

The Administrative Block and Children's Ward, built in 1897/8 by H Percy Adams, is designed in the Free Renaissance style with Jacobean and Flemish details. It features red brick with terracotta dressings, a tiled roof, and brick stacks. The two-storey administrative block has attics and nine windows. At the center, there is a cupola with a finial atop the roof. The central projecting section consists of three bays, highlighted by a Dutch gable, a fretted balustrade, and octagonal corner turrets. The windows are mullioned and transomed, including a prominent five-light canted bay on the first floor. An elaborate doorcase is adorned with a swansneck pediment, featuring terracotta sculptures of a seated mother with two children, flanked by two medical practitioners in classical attire, created by Eames.

On either side of the central section are set-back areas with two bays, also featuring mullioned and transomed windows and gabled dormers. The projecting end bays have large gables supported by console brackets and include four-light canted bays on both floors. The building stands on a plinth.

To the rear, the ward block is a single-storey structure made of red brick with five gables. Inside the administrative block, there is a central Staircase Hall with an imperial staircase featuring wooden balusters and arched details at both the top and bottom, along with tessellated floors. The ground floor Committee Room is notable for its four Ionic columns and original fireplace.

Attached to the rear of the Administrative Block is the Children's Ward, which displays 20 ceramic nursery rhyme panels by W B Simpson and a tiled plaque over the entrance listing the names of the benefactors. The tiles, likely produced by Maw's, are considered some of the finest examples of early ceramic artwork in children's wards, and it is rare to find such panels still in place.