Number 1 Prescot Street and Attached Wall and Railings is a Grade II listed building in the Tower Hamlets local planning authority area, England. Office block. 3 related planning applications.

Number 1 Prescot Street and Attached Wall and Railings

WRENN ID
unlit-thatch-summer
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Tower Hamlets
Constituency
Bethnal Green and Stepney MP: Rushanara Ali (Lab)
Country
England
Type
Office block
Address
Number 1 Prescot Street and Attached Wall and Railings, No. 1 and Attached Wall and Railings, Nos. 5-7
OS grid reference
TQ 340 809
Coordinates
51.51174, -0.06956
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: sale history · EPC · related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Office block, built in 1932 by L G Ekins for the Co-operative Wholesale Society, and constructed by the CWS Building Department. The building is a steel frame structure clad in dark brown brick, with raked horizontal joints. It has a semi-basement and entrances faced with concrete textured to resemble feldspar or granite, channeled to give the appearance of stone. The roof is a green pantiled mansard roof with two rows of dormers.

The building is rectangular and occupies a corner site, rising five storeys, with two attics and a semi-basement. The main facade has thirteen bays, with a later addition of seven slightly projecting bays to the right. A segmental arched arcading rises from the ground floor through the fourth floor, featuring splayed brick reveals set at angles to create a "dog tooth" pattern; the arch heads are also treated in this way. Bronzed and green-painted metal framed windows are arranged in three lights, with green metal spandrel panels featuring corrugated and bead designs. The main entrance is centrally located, with a rectangular surround that extends from the basement’s textured cement. It has recessed angular mouldings and a bronzed iron geometric pattern screen. Above, a bas-relief rectangular plaque depicts a nude male and female, and the cornice has a corrugated design. Steps lead to the entrance, flanked by cement balustrades with bronzed iron railings of a geometric pattern, incorporating bronzed octagonal lanterns.

The fifth floor is constructed of lighter-coloured brick with a blue band, and features continuous three-light, square-headed recessed windows with brick mullions, separated by elongated enriched brick ornamentations. A blue and red brick corrugated parapet tops the building. The pantiled roof has antefixae. Continuous rows of cream-painted three-light dormers have corrugated lintels and separating panels; alternate panels feature angular cream rainwater heads and green painted pipes used as decorative elements. The left-hand angle is canted, with a plainer entrance. Brickwork at the angles forms an openwork pattern, while a three-story angular oriel window displays green-painted metal zig-zag patterned spandrel panels. The returns to the facade are similar to the main facade.

Attached to the building is a concrete wall with piers and bronzed iron railings of a geometric pattern.

The building represents an unusual example in Britain of the German Expressionist style; L.G. Ekins dedicated his career to designing shops and warehouses for the CWS throughout Britain.

Local climate

Number 1 Prescot Street and Attached Wall and Railings sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 95% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 98% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 57% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
  • Sale history — 1 transaction since 2014
  • Related listed building consents — 3 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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