Number 9 Shop

Number 9 Shop, also known as the former J Shop, is a Grade II listed building located on Rodbourne Road in Swindon. This very long structure features a masonry facade with an arcaded ground floor made of red brick, characterized by headed arches and ashlar dressed jambs and windows, with paired windows above. The rear elevation is constructed of brick with brick dressed windows.

The western two-thirds of the building were originally built in 1873 as a foundry, with extensions added to the east around 1890 and again in 1922, all maintaining similar architectural detailing. The building presents a 32-bay facade to the main line railway, with a twin-gabled six-bay return at the east end and a corrugated sheet return at the west end. The rear elevation is partially obscured by modern additions from 1965.

The first 20 bays from the west represent the original construction, and it is reputed that alternate ground floor bays were blind pierced by windows around 1924. The remaining 12 bays date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The west elevation was rebuilt in 1965. The attention given to the facade to match the extensions with the original construction suggests that this building was always considered prestigious in relation to the main line railway.

Inside, the building consists of two tall single-storey aisles, separated in the original section by a rank of two-tier cast-iron columns, while the later sections use riveted steel composite columns with a much greater bay interval. Notably, the building was visited by King George V and Queen Mary in 1924, during which a welcome message was cast in their presence, and this message still survives on site.