A And E Warehouses, St John'S Wharves

The 'A' and 'B' Warehouses at St John's Wharves, built between 1860 and 1870, are notable examples of Victorian warehouse architecture. The 'A' warehouse features five storeys constructed of stock brick, accented with granite dressings and reveals at the ground floor, which has a symmetrical three-bay front. It displays channelled rustication on the quoin pilasters, a moulded brick cornice, and a parapet with a central dormer hatch framed in brick and adorned with a dentil cornice. Access to the fifth floor is provided by a bridge from the opposite side of the road. The first floor and above have linked hatch ranks with timber jambs that are only slightly recessed and segmental gauged arches. The centre bay includes a small paned iron frame segmental arched window on the third and fourth floors, with hatches on the lower floors, including one on the second floor leading to a lower bridge connecting to the north warehouse.

The 'E' warehouse has four storeys and an attic, also built of stock brick, featuring a three-bay front with a coped parapet raised in a gable over an oculus. It has segmental arched windows with Portland stone sills flanking the hatch rank, with timber jambs that are slightly recessed. Although the river elevations have undergone some alterations, they remain similar in style. The warehouses are linked across Wapping High Street to the northern block of St John's Wharves by increasingly rare gantry gangways. This group of warehouses retains some of the cavernous, ravine-like quality that once characterized Wapping High Street and exhibits architectural character, preserving their original hoists.