2-8, GOODGE STREET (See details for further address information)

Former Catesby's Store, comprising 64-67 Tottenham Court Road and 2-8 Goodge Street. This former carpet and linoleum store with an integrated public house at the corner now contains retail use on the ground floor and office use above, subdivided from its original unified commercial purpose.

The building was designed by Henry Alfred Whitburn FRIBA in Free Renaissance style and completed in 1903, with a possibly earlier range to the west fronting Goodge Street. It is constructed of red brick with extensive Portland Stone dressings, granite-faced lower floors, and slate and bronze-tiled roofs.

The Tottenham Court Road elevation is an exceptionally rich expression of the Free Renaissance style. The ground floor features an inserted mezzanine level set within a four-bay arcade faced in red granite, carried on Ionic columns with bases of black granite. The spandrels are finished with channelled rustication, and the arches have keystones. The first and second floors are treated as a unified composition with a six-bay arcade (arranged 2-1-2-1) of tall arch-headed windows, divided by pilasters of banded red brick. A balustrade of red granite runs at first floor level with a former stone fascia panel enriched with carved ornament of arabesque dragons. The decorative spandrels to the arches at second floor level are cut brick or Portland Stone, carved with cartouches against foliage.

The third and fourth floors include a projecting oriel to the left and a Venetian window over the southern pair of bays with tall Ionic columns. Projecting oriel bays to the third and sixth bays are enriched with ornamental bases featuring storks with outstretched wings. The third floor windows between these oriels are divided by short Ionic columns with arched windows above. The picturesque skyline is terminated by a square dome to the left, sheathed in fish-scale tiles with a cupola above. Two two-stage domes with metal finials bearing triton-enriched weathervanes rise over the third and sixth bays. The fourth and fifth bays terminate in a large segment-headed gable beneath which is carved ornamental finial decoration of a dragon holding a shield, with a large circular window below. Mullion and transom windows are present to the first and second floor openings; upper floors have replacement windows.

The south-east corner is angled, with a projecting oriel window at upper levels. The underside of this oriel is enriched with a cartouche containing the letter 'C' for Catesby. The Goodge Street return features a single granite-faced arch to the ground floor, paired arches to the first and second floors, and a Venetian arch motif to the third and fourth floors.

The lower western continuation, comprising 4-8 (even) Goodge Street, consists of four storeys with attics. It is faced in red brick and Portland Stone with gabled fronts featuring arch-headed openings to the ground and first floor windows. Ground floors have been altered. Spandrels of cut brick at second floor level in the centre unit depict scenes of linoleum printing and sales. Keystones at first floor level are decorated with 'C & S' for Catesby & Son. An oriel to the central second floor window is flanked by columns; other windows are stone mullion and transom. Third floor windows are tripartite with Jacobean-style turned mullions of stone; cut brick aprons appear below. Gables to the attic storey include a central one with a tripartite window in stone surround, and flanking gables with ball finials. A slate-hung mansard roof sits behind.

The interior is believed to be much altered and was not inspected for this assessment.

Edward Catesby opened a carpet and linoleum shop in Marylebone in 1865 and moved to Tottenham Court Road in 1885. The corner of this site was originally occupied by the Talbot public house, which was absorbed into the store in 1923. The site was rebuilt in 1903 (the date appears on certain keystones), with the corner pub included within the new scheme. The architect's initials HAW and the date 1904 are visible at the top of the main gable. A new entrance and air raid shelter were inserted in 1938, and the building was altered internally in 1953. Catesby's originally extended as far as 16 Goodge Street.

The building is listed principally for its exceptionally exuberant facades, which embody the commercial confidence of Edwardian London at the height of imperial power and exemplify spirited and eclectic historicism in architecture.