Carrow Works Block 92

Block 92, the former administrative offices of J and J Colman Ltd of Norwich, built in 1857 and enlarged in 1874 and 1878.

MATERIALS: the roof has a slate covering, and walls are constructed of Somerleyton red brick with gault brick dressings.

PLAN: irregularly-shaped on plan with a curved south-west corner and angled north-west corner.

EXTERIOR: the former office building is two and half storeys in height over a basement, and features a hipped slate roof with six segmental-headed dormer windows, three red brick lateral wall chimneystacks, and projecting eaves. The walls are constructed of Somerleyton red brick laid in Flemish bond with gault brick dressings. The window bays are slightly recessed, and a decorative gault brick and red brick stringcourse separates the ground and first floors. The north, south and east elevations each have four window bays. The west elevation has five window bays and is curved to the south-west corner where an entrance was introduced from Carrow Road in the mid- to late 1870s; the north-west corner is angled with two window bays. All windows are flat arched with gauged brick lintels, and generally contain two-over-two timber sashes. The south elevation has two recessed gauged-brick door surrounds, both approached by short flights of steps. The central entrance has a date stone over inscribed ‘1878’ and contains late-C20 double-leaf doors; the entrance at the south-west corner contains a half-glazed timber door. A two-bay four-storey block was added to the east side around 1910, linking the former office building with a former flour mill to the east (destroyed during the Second World War). This two-bay four-storey block is excluded from the List entry, as indicated on the map.

INTERIOR: internal partitions and acoustic ceiling tiles were introduced throughout the interior in the mid- to late C20. Plain cast-iron columns survive on the ground floor, some of which are semi-concealed. The joists of the first floor appear to have been recently replaced, and additional steel supports introduced on the ground floor.