27, Guildhall Road

This is a commercial building dating to around 1936, with alterations made in the mid-20th century. It was likely designed by either F A Gotch or L G Ekins. The building is steel-framed and clad in faience tiles, topped with a flat concrete roof and a hipped slate roof, featuring a tall square brick stack at the south-east corner. It extends over three stories and incorporates a basement.

The building’s design is notable for its original metal framed casement windows. A distinctive conical glazed staircase tower is situated at the north-west corner, featuring chamfered outer doors and plain veneered doors within, sheltered by a plain hood. Above the tower are five vertical strips of eight windows, separated by faience tile mullions and transoms. The west front has a sloping basement with eight small windows, with two later inserted doorways. An entrance with a recessed doorway and single flanking windows is situated to the right. The upper three stories have thirteen windows arranged in vertical panels, with painted metal panels between, all edged by projecting faience tiled surrounds and decorative moulding. A similar single window panel rises through three floors. The north front showcases a two-story facade with a curved corner, featuring two rows of strip windows in raised faience surrounds, topped by a plain parapet. A recessed upper floor has six cross casement windows. The east front also has a sloping basement with doors to the left and ten graduated windows. A central, single-story section contains eight three-light casement windows in a single strip, with a flat parapet. Behind and above this are two similar stories, each also featuring eight windows. To either side of the central section are three-story wings: the wing to the left has two windows, and the wing to the right has three windows, all set in vertical panels and surrounded by raised faience details.

The interior includes a staircase and hallway with terrazzo flooring. The hallway features two serpentine steps, and the stairs have two curved flights to each floor with a continuous metal balustrade. The top floor contains a reception area with a mosaic tiled floor and a single doorway. A lift shaft with original doors and surround is situated at the south end.

This well-preserved example of a 1930s commercial building shares stylistic similarities with the work of Adler and Sullivan in Chicago, as well as the designs of Erich Mendelsohn, notably his work on the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill. Gotch was an important local architect of the period, but the building has also been linked to L G Ekins, a northern architect who worked for the Co-operative Wholesale Society in the 1930s.