58B Annan Road, Gretna

A block of flats designed by Raymond Unwin with C M Crickmer as site architect, built in 1917 in Edwardian Renaissance style. The building forms a symmetrical U-plan, comprising a long principal north-facing elevation with a single-storey range adjoining each outer south gable.

The principal north front is dominated by pedimented narrow central and wide outer gables with blocked cornices. The ground floor features shallow advanced Venetian windows with pedimented and architraved surrounds in the outer bays, with the main entrance centrally placed beneath a pedimented door case. Above are small-paned sashes set within shallow recessed vertical panels. The elevation is topped with an eaves course and mutule cornice, with axial chimney stacks breaking the roofline. The building is constructed of red brick with red ashlar dressings, and the roofs are slated. The six-bay flanks also feature architraved doorways, and the westmost low wing now serves as the Tourist Information Office.

This building was constructed as part of the wartime expansion of Gretna, built 1916–18 to serve as the Police Barracks for the township. The town was developed to accommodate workers for a large government-commissioned munitions factory stretching nine miles along the Solway banks, producing Cordite explosives. The township was designed along Garden City principles, with green spaces, a central street containing shops and community facilities, and curving secondary streets. In addition to housing, the town included churches, a dance hall, school, and cinema to serve the thousands of workers brought in from across Britain and Ireland. The factory was dismantled after the war, leaving few remnants.

The building's prominent chimney stacks and cornice decoration, combined with regularly spaced windows and restrained classical detailing in the Venetian windows and pedimented door cases, contribute to its architectural distinction. It occupies a key junction within Gretna village.