15, 16 AND 17, HATFIELDS

15, 16, and 17 Hatfields is a former printing works built in 1905 by Frank Matcham, which has been converted into flats. The building features a reinforced concrete frame using the Hennebique system, with a brick facade and stone dressings.

The exterior is two storeys high with a semi-basement and a full attic storey, spanning 16 bays. It has giant pilasters that rise to round-headed windows on the first floor, except for the end pairs of bays where the ground-floor openings have round-headed arches with keystones and impost capitals. The first-floor windows are similarly treated, with round openings in the spandrels. Above the first-floor cornice, there is a parapet that includes square-headed attic windows, with a decorative line over the end pairs of bays. One pair of attic windows is blocked. The windows are designed with small panes and metal glazing bars, and alternate bays are separated by rusticated brick pilaster strips that break through the string course above the first-floor windows. The second bay from each end features monogrammed iron gates leading to the entrance.

The interior has not been inspected. The building is recognized for its historic interest as an early example of reinforced concrete construction and for its architectural significance, highlighted by its vast frontage and classical pilasters made of high-quality brickwork.