12-22, The Corridor

This is an 1825 arcade of shops, altered in 1870, by HE Goodridge. It comprises parallel rows of shops, a north range, and a glass-roofed arcade connecting High Street to Union Passage. Terminal blocks on High Street (numbered 18 and 19) and on Union Passage (numbered 11A and 12A, which are part of a later extension to Union Street) are listed separately.

The architecture is of painted limestone ashlar with an iron and glass roof. The two-storey range has a continuous line of timber shopfronts, occasional entrances to an upper floor, and plate glass windows with narrow, widely spaced mullions. The shopfronts are divided by pilasters, topped by a wreathed entablature, and an arched glass roof resting on a cornice. The 1870 alterations saw Goodridge's original shops converted to open stalls, similar to those in London’s Lowther Arcade. The upper floor is largely hidden behind the roofline, but features alternate tripartite and single sash windows. A central portion of the arcade has a raised roof extending to eaves level, pitched to the centre, with a gallery containing a good cast iron balustrade and plaster classical statues at either end.

The arcade was originally known as Goodridge's Corridor and was a personal speculation by Goodridge. It is one of the earliest shopping arcades outside London, comparable to Burlington Arcade (1815-1819) and the Royal Opera Arcade (1816-1818), and contemporary with an arcade in Bristol’s The Horsefair. The original roof was glazed with coloured glass and fitted with heavy timber skylights. The site occupies the former location of a medieval close called Marchant's Court, documented on a 1694 map. Most of the shopfronts date from the 1870 alteration (with those at numbers 8, 9 and 10 being circa 1900). The arcade sustained damage in December 1974 from an I.R.A. bomb, and much of the present glazing dates from the subsequent repairs. This is a notable late Georgian retail development, employing Goodridge’s characteristic Greek Revival style.