Finsbury Barracks And Attached Railings

Finsbury Barracks, built in 1857 for the Honourable Artillery Company, is designed by Joseph A. Jennings. The building features dressed stone with ashlar dressings and has a roof obscured by a parapet. It stands three and four storeys high over a basement and has an eleven-window range facing City Road. The architecture is castellated with Tudor details, highlighted by a central three-bay section designed as two four-storey towers flanking the entrance. There are wings of four bays on either side, ending in corner towers.

The entrance features a central segmental-pointed arch, with a two-storey mullioned-and-transomed window above, set in a recess under a similar arch. The middle stage of the window has blank panels with a carved coat of arms. Most windows are flat-arched, typically with two or three lights, and the corner towers have bartizans. The central section and bartizans are machicolated, while the ranges between are corbelled.

In addition to the common rectangular chimneystacks, there are two on the central section and linked pairs on each of the octagonal corner towers, which are faced with ashlar. The north and south returns continue the same design, with an eight-window range to the north and a seven-window range to the south. However, at the fourth bay, the front is recessed on a chamfer, and the parapet is no longer embattled, with simpler window details. The property is complemented by cast-iron railings and gates featuring a double rail, the coat of arms of the Honourable Artillery Company on the standards, and spearhead finials.