Warehouse to rear of 10 Basin Quay

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A three-storey warehouse on the west side of the former canal basin, just east of Sugar Island Quay. The building is aligned approximately east - west, with the principal gable facade to east.

Artificial slate roof, hipped at its west end, and with partially raised parapet at east. Half-round plastic gutters throughout.

The main facade is abutted at front by a two storey modern building, however, much of its original detailing and fenestration survives. This wall, which is three openings wide, is of red brick (now strap pointed to ground and first floors), with band rusticated quoins from first floor upwards.

At ground floor right (but now enclosed by the modern addition) is a doorway which has finely dressed granite stop-end chamfered jambs and imposed semicircular head. There is a projecting plain granite string course over. At left, modern stairs rise up the facade from left to right, cutting across any original window openings, all of which have been infilled and replaced with three modern openings above the stairs' quarter landing.

At first floor right is a doorway identical to that below. To its left are the semicircular heads of two windows, both identical to the door head. Each has a timber infilled head with decorative punched roundel and flanking triangular openings. A projecting string course links the arch imposts.

Three semicircular headed window openings similar to those below are exposed above the abutting building at second floor; all the heads have been infilled as below. Above them runs a finely dressed flush-mounted granite platband; a dentiled granite cornice also runs across it at eaves level. The pedimented gable rises slightly above the apex of the roof line. It has a raking dentiled cornice with antefixae and acroterion, all of finely dressed granite. The apex contains a large circular opening, trimmed with granite but now infilled. This opening is flanked by similarly trimmed and infilled triangular openings.

The south elevation was originally abutted by a two-storey building, now demolished and thus exposing the unrendered random rubble granite wall. There are no openings to the ground or first floors. The wall to the second floor has been demolished and rebuilt in modern brick; only a short section of the original wall now survives at right.

The rear gable is smooth rendered in cement; unrendered random rubble is exposed up its left side (this section projects slightly from the general line of the wall). There are modern fire escape doors at ground and top floor, and a steel fire escape staircase at right.

The left half of the north elevation is abutted at ground and first floor by a continuation of the modern front building. The wall above this abutting section is wet dashed. The right hand half of the wall is partly abutted by a modern garage; the exposed section of wall above is of unrendered random rubble.

Historical information

This building was erected in the period 1875-81, but its precise date is less certain. It belonged to 5 Sugar House Quay (HB16/26/005), and the Valuation Book notes the appearance of an engine house (containing a 12hp steam engine) within this complex in 1875, which at that time belonged to Hugh Emerson. It is described as a “stone dressing concern” (probably for the shaping of building stones rather than the dressing of millstones). A new chimney is recorded in 1880, but this actual building does not appear on the Valuation Revision map until 1881, when the site is revalued from £26 to £33. Its precise function is also uncertain, but as its appears to be related to an industrial process, the term ‘factory’ must suffice for the moment.

Primary Sources:

1. Valuation revision books, 1866-1930, PRONI VAL 12B/15/1c, p.237;
2. Valuation revision books, 1866-1930, PRONI VAL 12E/125/1/12.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A three-storey warehouse. An unusually well embellished façade, but greatly degraded by modern additions.