Survey Data
Reg No
50080484
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural
Original Use
Factory
In Use As
Office
Date
1940 - 1960
Coordinates
310412, 231871
Date Recorded
04/08/2014
Date Updated
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Description
Detached thirty-nine-bay double-height factory, built c.1950, comprising central square-plan tower with stepped corners flanked by projecting five-bay blocks with curved corners, in turn flanked by fourteen-bay blocks. Attached sawtooth-roofed block to south, and attached saw tooth roofed block to east. Flat roof with red brick parapet having ceramic copings. Red brick parapet with ceramic string course and digital clocks to tower, topped by rotating Mercedes symbol. Red brick walls laid in English garden wall bond, with ceramic tiled pilasters flanking openings, having tiled lintels and sills. Metal fittings to openings, many recently replaced and with recent curved glazing to entrance. Various related buildings to south. Rendered boundary plinths and piers with cast-metal railings and gates.
Appraisal
Though now somewhat hidden from view by vegetation, the imposing tower continues to make an eyecatching contribution to the streetscape and it brings a vertical contrast to the building's long, horizontal form. Executed in crisp red brick, the ceramic detailing adds definition, colour and textural interest to this carefully detailed building. Though some fittings have been replaced, original metal windows can be seen in the tower and parts of the projecting curved bays. A fine example of modern architecture, it may have been commissioned by Burtons, before being sold to Mercedes Benz.