Description

SP0587SE
997/10322/10322
08-MAY-00

ALBION STREET


GII
Terrace of houses,arranged in two pairs of dwellings, latterly printing works,and empty at the time of inspection.(28-April-2000).C.1845,with C20 alterations.MATERIALS:Red/brown brick with off-centre gable and ridge chimneys and a Welsh slate roof covering.PLAN:Linear range of 'three-quarter houses',arranged in pairs of dwellings served from a central entrance passageway,with individual doors sited within the passage.FRONT(north-west )ELEVATION of four bays and two storeys above cellars with attics.Two doorways to access passages located centrally to each half of the range,with semi-circular overlights above panelled doors.Flanking the doorways are stacked window openings beneath flat gauged brick heads First floor openings have undivided sash frames,attic floor with two-light casements.Ground floor windows now boarded up,and that to the left of the right-hand doorway has been enlarged.Right return shows asymmetrical roof profile and off-centre location of chimney stack.INTERIORS.Original plan form modified,but retaining evidence of original disposition of rooms.Each dwelling had two rooms to each level,served by a plain stair running parallel to the central passage.Rooms retain small cast-iron grates in hearth in plain surrounds,panelled doors and in No.99,an arched recess to the side of the hearth at attic level.Cellars with chimney bases with arched recesses.HISTORY:Directory evidence suggests that these houses were erected C.1840, in two phases,as indicated by the straight joint between the two pairs.They represent a superior level of working class housing,with more space than contemporary back-to -back and court houses.A public health report for Birmingham of 1841 included a plan and elevation of a pair of three-storey three-quarter houses,suggesting that this type of dwelling was considered to provide suitable accommodation for the working classes.A very rare surviving example of a distinctive type of working-class housing once found throughout Birmingham,which,despite internal alteration demonstrates the level and quality of accommodation considered to represent superior provision in a rapidly expanding C19 industrial community of national significance.

Listing NGR: SP0589487362

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26660526

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2