Victoria Road Calender, 1-43 Victoria Road, Dundee

Victoria Road Calender, located at 1-43 Victoria Road in Dundee, was built between 1874 and 1875 by Robertson and Orchar, featuring Baronial architectural detailing by J F Anderson. The building originally served as a calendering, bag sewing, and finishing works, with internal alterations carried out between 1911 and 1914 by James Lowe to create the headquarters for A and S Henry.

The structure is three stories tall with an attic and has a 14-bay Scotch baronial front. The east elevation includes basement loading doors in three bays beneath bipartite windows and a crowstepped gable. It is constructed of rubble with ashlar dressings. The office entrance is located below a large mullioned and transomed arched window, which was inserted around 1912. All windows are connected by continuous hoodmoulds, which are segmental at the ground and second floors, and stepped at the first floor. The tall ground floor windows feature carved wooden transoms, while the first floor windows were altered for stained glass and modified to sash and case around 1912. The second floor windows are partly original with top-hopper openings and partly sash and case. The building is topped with a richly corbelled parapet.

The west elevation has three bipartite windows below a steep crowstepped gable, which is adorned with twin ornamental chimney cans and flanked by angle bartizans featuring slit windows, conical roofs, and wrought-iron thistle finials. The east elevation, facing Eadies Road, consists of eight bays on a steeply sloping site, with a steep crowstepped gable over the front three bays. The north elevation has four bays with an arched door and was raised by one storey and an attic around 1912. The west elevation mirrors the crowstepped gable design, while a four-storey, three-bay section was added to the north around 1914. The north elevation is less distinctive, primarily featuring brick infill due to the demolition of the rear calendering and bag-sewing departments. The roof is slated.

Inside, there is an extraordinary staircase made of banded marble panels and bronze balusters, created between 1912 and 1913. The mezzanine boardroom features timber panelled columns and a plaster ceiling, also from 1912. The first floor includes offices and a large counting house with rows of desks, Ionic columns, and a plaster ceiling. All panelling and woodwork were completed by Methven Hyslop and Co between 1912 and 1913. The ground floor, second floor, and attic retain their original 1874 features, including fittings for press packers in the tall ground floor. The structure consists of timber floors supported by three rows of cast-iron columns, with some steel reinforcements by P and W MacLellan from Glasgow. The timber and wrought-iron tie roof is of M design.