Somerset Buildings, Huddersfield, Kirklees

Summary

Commercial building with ground-floor retail units and offices to the upper floors, 1883, by W H Crossland with sculptural work by C E Fucigna. Sandstone ashlar, slate roof, substantial ashlar ridge stacks. C19 Queen Anne style with French influences and classical Greek sculpture.

Description

Commercial building with ground-floor retail units and offices to the upper floors, 1883, by W H Crossland with sculptural work by C E Fucigna. C19 Queen Anne style with French influences and classical Greek sculpture.

MATERIALS: sandstone ashlar, slate roof, substantial ashlar ridge stacks

PLAN: Somerset Buildings is bounded by Church Street to the south, Byram Street to the east, Wood Street to the west and a small pedestrianised space to the north. The principal entrance lies on the south side. To the south across Church Street is the similarly styled, but larger Kirkgate Buildings, which was also designed by Crossland with sculptural work by Fucigna.

EXTERIOR: the ground floor is the building's tallest level with the floor levels diminishing in height above.

South elevation: this elevation facing Church Street is of a wide 3-bays with paired stringcourses that divide the floor levels and continue around the entire building. At the top of the elevation is an eaves cornice that also continues around all the elevations. The three ground-floor bays are separated by banded pilaster strips with vermiculated rustication. The strips are topped by console-supported panelled pedestals and then continue as quoin strips on the upper floors. The centre bay forms the main entrance bay and has a full-width round-arched opening that breaks through into the lower half of the first floor and has a figurative head keystone of a Greek mythological figure wearing a foliate headdress (possibly Daphne). The opening has a massive fanlight with horizontal and vertical muntin bars, which is set upon a console-supported dentil cornice incorporating two seated lion sculptures. Below is a partly-panelled screen incorporating baluster-style columns with capitals with prominent helices, partly-glazed panelled double doors, and overlights with margin lights. Gilded lettering on the two main overlights reads 'TEN CHURCH STREET' and 'SOMERSET BUILDINGS'. Above the entrance opening are three glazed roundels with carved shell, draped cloth and festoon decoration above. To the second floor is an arcade of three round-arched windows separated by engaged columns and piers with simplified Corinthian capitals and a blind balustrade beneath; the two outer windows have carved console keystones, whilst the centre window has a keystone of a carved lion's head with a ring in its mouth. The two outer bays have glazed shopfronts to the ground floor with signage fascias, dividing mullions and transoms, and stall risers of varying height; the upper section of the shopfront to the right is also arcaded. Both units also have shopfronts on the west and east elevation returns respectively. Due to a sloping ground level from west to east along Church Street the shopfront on the right is taller. The first and second floors are lit by two sets of paired plate-glass sash windows. Set just above the eaves cornice on the outer bays are dormer windows with elaborate ashlar frontispieces incorporating flying-buttress style side supports surmounted by rams' heads representing the Ramsden family. The dormers each have a cross window with a sculptural relief panel above; that to the left dormer has a cartouche with the initials 'JR' (presumably John Ramsden) in relief surrounded by draped cloth, fruit and lion's heads holding rings in their mouths, whilst that to the right has a cartouche with the date '1883' in relief flanked by seated lions; both are surmounted by a segmental pediment incorporating what appears to be folds of cloth arranged in a shell shape and dentil decoration. Set to the centre is a smaller and plainer dormer window with paired sash windows and a shaped pediment with a similar shell decoration and carved consoles.

East elevation: this elevation facing Byram Street is of a wide 4-bays and is similarly styled to the south elevation with tall ground-floor glazed shopfronts each divided by banded pilaster strips with vermiculated rustication that continue up the elevations as quoin strips. The shopfronts have signage fascias to the top, dividing mullions and transoms, and stall risers. The first and second floor bays each have two sets of paired sash windows. The attic level has dormer windows mirroring those of the south elevation; those to the outermost bays at each end are the larger dormers with flying buttress supports, whilst those to the inner bays are the smaller dormers with shaped pediments. The dormer to the southernmost (left) bay has a carved relief panel depicting a medallion of a Greek male's head in relief surrounded by garlands of cloth, and oak and laurel leaves, whilst the panel to the northernmost (right) bay has a similar panel depicting a female's head wearing a crown and flowers in her hair.

North elevation: this wide 3-bay elevation facing a pedestrianised area is plainer with altered paired shopfronts to the ground floor of each bay with modern roller shutters* (not of special interest) and no entrances, apart from a previous inserted fire door* (not of special interest) in one. A mezzanine level can clearly be seen in the unit occupying the two left bays. Each pair of shopfronts is separated by the same banded strips and quoin strips seen on the other elevations. The two left bays each have three sash windows to each first and second floor, whilst the right bay has six windows to each floor. At attic level the left bay again has a dormer with flying buttresses; the relief panel here depicting an eagle with its wings outstretched. Four remaining dormer windows are plainer with segmental pediments.

West elevation: this 4-bay elevation facing Wood Street is a plainer version of the east elevation, with banded pilaster strips with vermiculated rustication and quoin strips only to the end bays. Due to the sloping ground of the site and the fact that Wood Street is slightly higher than Byram Street, the ground-floor shopfronts on this side are lower in height. The two shopfronts to the centre bays have larger modern signage fascias* (not of special interest) over the originals and modern roller shutters* (not of special interest). The elevation's first and second-floor windows remain the same as those to the east elevation, but the attic dormer windows are plainer with segmental pediments, apart from the southernmost end bay, which has a flying-buttress dormer window in the style of the other elevations; here again depicting an eagle with its wings outstretched.

INTERIOR: internally the Church Street entrance lobby has been modernised. The original cantilevered sandstone open-well stair survives with cast-iron joist supports on the landing and half-landing levels, and modern tread coverings, but the original cast-iron balustrade has been removed to enable the insertion of a lift shaft* (not of special interest) into the stairwell and late-C20 timber handrails* (not of special interest). Partly-glazed painted-timber screens containing late-C20 doors* provide access off the stair onto the first and second floor levels, whilst a late-C20 glazed door and screen* lead onto the attic level (the late-C20 doors and attic screen are not of special interest). The building has a glazed central atrium that rises through 3-storeys from the first floor up to the attic/roof level, and has plain supporting piers and a glazed pitched roof with elegant mild-steel trusses springing from plain corbels. The bottom floor of the atrium (the building's first-floor level) has been altered and later partitioning*, which is not of special interest, has been inserted to create additional office space. The atrium is surrounded by a gallery/balcony walkway on each upper level with offices located off alongside the external walls. The offices retain their original internal windows (some with replaced glazing) fronting onto the galleries/walkways. Mid-C20 glazed floors* that are not of special interest have been inserted between the floor levels, but both of the upper-floor galleries retain their original painted cast-iron balustrade incorporating decorative panels at intermediate intervals and a timber handrail. Some late-C20 safety screens* (not of special interest) have been inserted behind the gallery balustrading on the second floor and a glazed conservatory-style lobby* (not of special interest, due to be removed in 2016) has been inserted behind the attic balustrade. Original moulded door and window architraves survive, along with deep roll-moulded skirtings and some original 4-panel doors. Suspended ceilings have been inserted and fireplaces have been removed, but chimneybreasts survive. It is believed that the library and art gallery leased the upper floors in 1898, but it is not believed that they made any significant alteration to the office layout of the building and there are no fittings or fixtures. The ground-floor shop units have mostly been altered and modernised. Some of the basement areas have also been modernised, but coal holes and storage recesses survive on the east side underneath the pavement of Byram Street.

* Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 ('the Act') it is declared that these aforementioned features are not of special architectural or historic interest.

History

Somerset Buildings was constructed in 1883 to the designs of the notable Huddersfield architect, William Henry Crossland, with sculptural work by Ceccardo Egidio Fucigna, and was commissioned by the Ramsden family who owned much of the town at this time. The building was built as an office and shop development, and also housed Huddersfield's first public library and art gallery from 1898-1940. Retail was confined to the ground floor, whilst the upper floors comprised offices arranged around a central atrium; an arrangement that survives in the present day. The interior has undergone some later alteration in places, including the flooring over of the atrium levels in c1940.

William Henry Crossland (1835-1908) was a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott and was involved, along with Scott, in the design of Akroyden, near Halifax, West Yorkshire, a model village scheme for the worsted manufacturer, Edward Ackroyd. Crossland subsequently developed his own architectural practice, which centred on Huddersfield, Halifax and Leeds, before moving to the south of England where he carried out further commissions. He has over 25 listed buildings to his name, many of which are in Huddersfield and other areas of West Yorkshire, including 10-18 Westgate and the Byram Arcade, Huddersfield (1880-1, Grade II), 20-26 Westgate, Huddersfield (1871-2, Grade II), Waverley Chambers, Huddersfield (1882, Grade II) and the Church of St Stephen, Elland (1863, Grade II*), as well as other areas of England, including Royal Holloway College, Egham, Surrey (1879-87, Grade I), Rochdale Town Hall (1866-71, Grade I), and the church of St Thomas, Sutton, North Yorkshire (1869, Grade II).

Ceccardo Egidio Fucigna (c1836-1884) was born in Carrara, Italy and was a member of the Academy of Ferrara, studying art in Florence and Rome. Fucigna was active as a sculptor in England from the early 1860s and was chief assistant modeller to John Birnie Philip until Philip's death in 1875. He subsequently produced works for the architect William Burges at Cardiff Castle and sculptural reliefs adorning WH Crossland's Royal Holloway College, as well as other works for Crossland, including several in Huddersfield town centre. Fucigna exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition numerous times between 1863-1879.

Reasons for Listing

Somerset Buildings, of 1883 by W H Crossland, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural quality: its eclectic C19 Queen Anne styling displays a strong level of architectural flair, incorporating French and Flemish Renaissance influenced detailing to successful effect;
* Architect: it was designed by the notable Huddersfield architect WH Crossland, who has many listed buildings to his name, and is an excellent example of his work;
* Sculptural interest: the elevations incorporate high-quality sculptural work by the Italian sculptor Ceccardo Egidio Fucigna, and include references to Huddersfield's close links with the textile trade, as well as the building's links with the Ramsden family;
* Interior interest: despite some later alteration the interior retains a number of notable features, including the atrium roof with its elegant mild-steel trusses, balustraded galleries to the two uppermost floors, and offices with original internal windows looking out onto the galleries;
* Group value: it has strong group value with nearby listed buildings, a number of which were also designed by Crossland.

External Links

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