Pin Factory annexe to Folk of Gloucester

This is a timber-framed barn, dating from the 16th century, which was converted to a pin factory in the 18th century and subsequently used as a museum. It is now (in 2024) a community heritage project called the Folk of Gloucester. The barn is constructed with a timber frame, originally filled with wattle and daub, later with 17th and 18th century brick. The third storey has been rebuilt in red brick, and contains a red brick stack to the south-east. The pitched roof is tiled.

The building is rectangular, consisting of four bays, located to the rear of 97 Westgate Street but associated with 99 Westgate Street. The exterior elevations are largely constructed of 17th-century brick; however, the top storey has been raised and built of 18th-century brick. The west elevation features three bands of horizontal sliding sash windows with glazing bars. At ground floor level, this section of windows is partially obscured, and a door has been inserted. The east and south elevations retain some timber-framing elements, while the north elevation retains some 16th-century timber-framing in square panels set on a brick dwarf wall, topped by the original gable tie-beam. The southern elevation is of plain brick with a modern fire exit at ground floor level.

Internally, the ground and first floors are large, open rooms with exposed timber uprights supported on brick piers, bridging beams, and curved struts. The ground floor is paved with red sandstone slabs, while the first and second floors are timber boarded. A 21st-century staircase has been added at the northern end to provide access to all levels. The northern gable is plastered at ground-floor level but retains exposed square-panel 16th-century timber-framing at first-floor level, culminating in the original gable tie-beam. Partitioning from the staircase is achieved via a 19th-century stud wall with a plank door. The third floor features several exposed king post trusses ceiled at the mid-point. Access to 99 Westgate Street is provided by a doorway in the west wall, leading directly into the building via a 19th-century plank and batten door with strap hinges.