3, Gray Street

This is a warehouse and light-industry factory, likely built around 1892. It is constructed of red brick in English bond, with stone dressings and slate roofs, featuring end and rear stacks. The building is three stories high, with a semi-basement. The facade has five bays and a four-window arrangement on each floor, featuring iron-framed windows with segmental arched heads. A ground-floor entrance door is centrally positioned, with part-glazed taking-in doors located above on the first and top floors, the latter topped with an ornamental gable and an iron crane on a bracket. A stone lintel band sits above a prominent brick cornice. The gable ends are blank, but there are iron-framed windows to the inner yard and rear elevations. The interior contains cast iron pillars. Originally built by Mr. Dyer, a currier, the warehouse likely stored cured leather hides on the lower floors, with additional space above available for rental. Trade directories indicate a variety of businesses occupied the building. The design effectively utilizes the narrow plot, maximizing light and space, and represents a unique survival in Northampton, showcasing its original plan. The factory first appeared in trade records in 1893 and is depicted in detail on the 1899 Ordnance Survey map.