Summary

Constitutional club and political party offices, built in two or more phases between the C17 and early-C19 possibly as a pair of houses. The buildings were refronted during the late-C18 or early-C19 and converted to their current (2022) use during the early-C20.

Description

Constitutional club and political party offices, built in two or more phases between the C17 and early-C19 possibly as a pair of houses. The buildings were refronted during the late-C18 or early-C19 and converted to their current (2022) use during the early-C20.

MATERIALS: the building has a stucco frontage onto Corn Square, which conceals an earlier timber-framed structure behind to the two easternmost bays. The roof covering is C20 concrete tile.

PLAN: the building occupies an H-shaped plan, with a principal range fronting Corn Square to the south, a shorter, ancillary range running north along the western plot boundary and an additional ancillary range running east from the western range along the northern plot boundary. A C20 extension partially infills the space between the north and south ranges.

EXTERIOR: The principal, southern range onto Corn Square is seven bays wide and composed of two distinct sections. The two easternmost bays (the C17 structure containing the Conservative Association offices) are three storeys in height under a pitched roof. There is a shallow, segmental-arched carriageway to the western bay, with a simple, timber and lead canopy and timber panelled doors. The main entrance is in the eastern bay and comprises a four-panelled door under a plain fanlight, within a panelled timber doorcase with a flat food. The two upper floors each contain two, timber sashes windows with stucco cills. Those on the first floor have six-over-six glazing and those on the second floor have three-over-six glazing.

The five-bay western section (the C18 or early-C19 structure containing the Rankin Club) is slightly taller than the two-bay eastern section, but contains two storeys plus cellar and an attic space under a pitched roof. The attic is lit by three, flat-roofed, box dormers of the late-C20. There is a large gap between the three western bays and two eastern bays of this section, possibly indicating the presence of two structural phases behind the unified frontage. Each floor contains five, two-pane sash windows with horns and stucco cills. A stucco plinth runs the length of the elevation, broken only by a blocked cellar window with a segmental-arched head and accompanying, modern, steel cellar hatch. A platband runs the length of the elevation above the first-floor windows. There are 12 pattress plates on the south elevation, all painted white and some of which are recessed into the stucco.

A secondary range runs north from the three westernmost bays of the south range. It is of two storeys under a pitched roof and is rendered externally with a series of three-over-six sash windows on its east and north elevations. Running east from this range is a further, long range under a pitched roof. In the return between these two ranges is a low, flat-roofed, two-storey extension of the C20. It is rendered and carries a series of timber sash windows.

INTERIOR: it is understood that there is some exposed timber framing within the C17 eastern wing of the building.

History

The town of Leominster traces its origins to the establishment of a religious house there during the C7 or earlier. The Saxon settlement endured repeated Viking raids and is recorded as a sizeable town in the Domesday Book (1086), with 27 households. In the early-C12, King Henry I established a Benedictine Priory in the town and granted a foundation charter for the town’s market. The town thrived throughout the later medieval period, despite periodic unrest due to its location in the border region. Leominster wool was prized across Europe and bestowed considerable wealth upon the town. The town centre retains many medieval and early-modern buildings; secular buildings are timber framed while surviving Priory buildings are constructed of local sandstone. The town centre retains an essentially medieval street pattern, with long, narrow burgage plots fronting the north-south spine road of Broad Street-High Street-South Street, and Corn Square (the historic market place) lying to the east of the High Street. The remains of the Priory, dissolved in 1539, lie to the north-east of the town centre. The town remained a prominent local centre into the C18 and C19. During this period, many timber-framed buildings were replaced (or refronted) by brick buildings with Classical elevations. Many houses in the town centre were partially converted to commercial use and equipped with shopfronts during the later-C19 and C20.

The original form and use of 7 and 8 Corn Square are unclear, although it is understood that the east wing of the range fronting Corn Square is of the C17 and contains exposed timber framing with brick infill internally. A two-storey, timber-framed outbuilding to the rear of the front range is believed to be of the same date. The greater part of the current building (the five westernmost bays of the Corn Square range) was added during the C18. The two easternmost bays of this later façade may represent a refronting of part of an earlier building, given the gap between these bays and the three bays to the west.

The shallow-arched carriage entrance and timber-panelled door surround within the two easternmost bays suggest the C17 structure was refronted during the late-C18 or early-C19 and may have been incorporated into the larger building to the west at this time. The provision of a carriage entrance, the building’s prominent, unified frontage onto Corn Square, and the presence of a large cellar hatch suggest it may have operated as an inn or hotel from the C18.

Sometime in the early-C20, the building was converted to use as a constitutional club and offices for the local branch of the Conservative Party. By 1921 the club was named the Rankin Constitutional Club, after the former Conservative MP for Leominster, Sir James Rankin (1842-1915). It was possibly also at this time that the building was combined internally with 6 Corn Square to the west (separately listed at Grade II). Three large, box dormer windows were added during the mid to late-C20 and the roof covering, previously slate, was changed to concrete tile. The building remains in use as a club and conservative party offices today (2022). The two easternmost bays (containing the carriage entrance and doorway) are understood to house the Conservative Party offices, while the five westernmost bays contain the club.

Sir James Rankin (25 December 1842 – 17 April 1915) was born into the wealthy family who operated a timber and ship building company, Pollok, Gilmour and Company, where he eventually became a senior partner. In 1880 he was elected to Parliament as the Conservative MP for Leominster. He served three terms in office: from 1880 to 1885; from 1886 to 1906; and from 1910 to 1912. He was made a Baronet in 1898.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26547001

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
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