The Former Wright and Pankhurst Building is a Grade II listed building in the Rother local planning authority area, England. Repository stores.

The Former Wright and Pankhurst Building

WRENN ID
dusted-bastion-weasel
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Rother
Constituency
Hastings and Rye MP: Helena Dollimore (Lab)
Country
England
Type
Repository stores
Address
The Former Wright and Pankhurst Building, 17, Tower Street, Rye
OS grid reference
TQ 921 205
Coordinates
50.95276, 0.73447
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: EPC · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The former Wright and Pankhurst Building is a repository and stores, later used as a book company and then an antique showroom, built in 1907. The design was by Philip Henry Tree of St Leonard's for the local carriers Wright and Pankhurst. It is an example of classical style architecture, constructed of brown brick in English bond, with red brick and stone dressings, and a mansard tiled roof. The building is four storeys at the front, with three windows, and three storeys with attics to the sides, also featuring three windows.

The front elevation features three giant round-headed arches between the first and third floors, accented with stone keystones and impost blocks. The central window has fixed casements with twelve panes, while the end windows are opening casements. The ground floor has a central pair of half-glazed double doors with granite keystones, flanked by smaller round-headed windows. To either side are round-headed niches with granite keystones, and a surviving stone date plaque displays the date 1907 alongside the initials "Wand P" (for Wright and Pankhurst), accompanied by a carving of a galleon and dolphin. The right-side elevation includes three blocked dormers, a cornice above the second floor, four pilasters between the first and second floors, and decorative rainwater heads. Decorative S-shaped and heart-shaped iron tie plates are also present on the first, third, and second floors respectively. The left-side elevation features a mansard roof with a brick chimneystack. The rear elevation displays a projecting lift tower and a loading dock, with windows having original openings but later 20th-century replacements. A later 20th-century shutterfronted grille is situated at the base of the lift tower.

The interior retains original sliding fire doors manufactured by Lucas and Son of Brockley, Lewisham, and a concrete staircase.

Historical records indicate the building was advertised as "the only absolutely fireproof building of its kind in England," with a hot air heating system and a gas-powered lift designed to minimize handling risks. Wright and Pankhurst were described as motorcar proprietors from 1911, but their horse-drawn taxi service continued until the 1930s.

Local climate

The Former Wright and Pankhurst Building sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 87% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 67% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 23 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 75% of listed buildings. Of these, 11 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.

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