Survey Data
Reg No
40800201
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Tannery
Historical Use
Apartment/flat (converted)
Date
1860 - 1900
Coordinates
222244, 421065
Date Recorded
23/06/2014
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached thirteen-bay three-storey former tannery, built c. 1890, having seven-bay single-storey lean-to block attached to the south-east elevation adjacent to the River Leannan. Converted into apartments and holiday accommodation, c. 2000, with modern single-bay single-storey addition to the north-east gable end. Pitched natural slate roof with rendered chimneystacks to the gable ends (north-east and south-west) having polygonal terracotta chimneypots over, and with cast-iron rainwater goods (mostly replacement). Coursed and squared rubble limestone walls with flush squared rubble stone quoins to the corners. Square-headed window openings with flush red brick block-and-start surrounds and voussoirs, some cut stone sills, and with mainly modern replacement two-over-two pane timber sliding sash windows, and some three-over-three pane timber sliding sash windows (end bays to the north-west elevation); square-headed window opening to the north-east end of the south-east elevation at first floor level having red brick block-and-start surround, limestone, and replacement timber casement windows. Square-headed door openings with replacement glazed timber doors. Set back from road in own grounds to the west of the centre of Ramelton, and to the north bank of River Leannan adjacent to the former beaching green.
Appraisal
This substantial three-storey former tannery, dating to the last decades of the nineteenth-century, retains its original form and character despite recent alterations to accommodate new uses. Its visual appeal is enhanced by the retention of salient fabric including the natural slate roof and while the fittings to the openings are mainly modern replacements, their style is in keeping with the original fabric. It is robustly built in local rubble stone masonry, which creates a plain but imposing structure that has a strong presence to the north bank of the River Leannan, a short distance to the west of the centre of Ramelton. The red brick block-and-start surrounds to the openings are a feature of many late nineteenth-century industrial and agricultural buildings. It was originally in use as a tannery where animal skins were processed to produce leather; vast quantities of water are required in the process, hence the siting of this building on the banks of a major river. This building forms one of the later additions to the important and extensive industrial heritage of Ramelton, and is an integral element of the built heritage of the local area. It may have been originally built by a George White and\or a Peter Bayne, both of which are listed as Tanners on Bridge Street, Ramelton, in 1881 (Slater’s Directory).