Upper Precinct, North and South Link Blocks and Piazza, St Michael's, Coventry

Summary

Two ranges of shops, placed on the north and south sides of a piazza and joined by aerial pedestrian walkways at first floor level. They were designed and built in 1954-1956 by WS Hattrell and Partners.

Description

Two ranges of buildings on either side of a piazza, joined by aerial pedestrian walkways at first floor level. They were designed and built in 1954-1956 by WS Hattrell & Partners.

MATERIALS: reinforced concrete frame covered by red Blockley City mixture brick laid in English bond and stretcher bond with Westmorland slate, Hornton and Travertine stone dressings.

PLAN: two ranges of retail buildings of four storeys, with shop fronts at ground and first floor levels and storage space and staff facilities above. The ranges face each other on the north and south sides of a piazza. A walkway at first floor level runs around and across the precinct, giving access to the upper shops, and creating a rectangular aerial circuit.

EXTERIOR: the ranges mirror each other. Each has ten wide bays, which equate to the width of a single shop. The lower two storeys have shop fronts and the upper two have recessed balconies. At ground floor the shop fronts are divided by pilaster mullions clad with Hornton stone. Above this the first floor fronts are divided by mullions clad with green Westmorland slate which continue up the building as square pillars which stand proud of the front and support the upper balconies. The first-floor shops have panels of vertical timber boarding above their fascia boards. The square metal balusters of the balconies are topped by mahogany handrails. Walling at second and third floor levels is faced with Travertine panels and windows are continuous horizontal bands of metal-framed casements. Enclosing each front are deeper pillars at far right and left which support the flat roof, which projects forwards over the balconies. Shop windows at both levels have been remodelled, but have retained the stone-clad mullion pilasters which divide them.

The link blocks are joined at their eastern and western ends to other buildings which form part of the Upper Precinct.

The walkways and bridges which run around the Upper Precinct at first-floor level are replacements of the original structure. They were installed about 1994 and have metal column supports beneath the bridges at east and west. The walkways along the north and south sides are partially supported by the ground-floor shop fronts, which project forward of the upper floors. They do not have pillar supports. At the centre of the northern side a group of three escalators leading up to the walkway from the piazza, is housed inside a glazed structure with powdered metal supports which are painted green. This, too, was added at the end of the C20. A shop front at first floor level on the south side of the precinct has a distinctive façade which appears to date from the later C20. This has a background wall of mosaic and vertical timber boarding from which showcase oriel windows with stainless steel surrounds project outwards.

The rear of the southern range is set lower than the piazza due to the fall of land. At its centre is a staircase tower and to the right of this is an off-loading bay which connects to an arrangement of service ramps which lead up from basement level in two slopes to a first floor service yard with entrances into the backs of the first floor shops. A similar arrangement was formerly at the rear of the northern block, but this has now been altered by the removal of the ramps and the substitution of a service lift with a new brick wall adjacent to the southern wall of the West Orchards Shopping Centre (built in 1986-1991).

INTERIOR: all of the shop interiors have been remodelled and some have been joined to create larger premises. On the south side several shops retain their original upper floor plans with stairs leading to storage space, kitchens and washrooms, with access to the balconies. On the northern side there is a former staff dining room at second floor level which straddles two of the premises.

The piazza has yellow and red brick paving laid in diagonal diamond patterns. At the eastern end is the Levelling Stone (Grade II) and two railed enclosures. The piazza connects with Broadgate to its east and Smithford Way and Market Way to the west.

History

The city of Coventry became a centre for engineering at the start of the C20, particularly cycle and motor car manufacture. Many of the most notable English car makers had their base in the city. This rapid influx to the centre of a medieval city with a pattern of narrow streets caused problems and the city engineer, Ernest Ford built a southern bypass and laid out Corporation Street and Trinity Street near the centre in the 1930s. Plans for rebuilding the area around the cathedral to form a civic centre were revealed in an exhibition, ‘Coventry of Tomorrow’ of 1939-1940, but the major air raid of 14 November 1940 destroyed large areas of the commercial centre of the city and led to a more comprehensive assessment and plan for the city’s future requirements. The city architect, Donald Gibson, who was appointed in 1939, outlined a new, zoned plan in 1941 which included a large shopping centre to the west, built around a central axis which was aligned on the tower of the old cathedral.

The size of what was planned initially caused some concern to the city’s Chamber of Commerce and to the Ministry of Town and Country Planning, which would authorise loans for compulsory purchase of land and development. The city plan was refined during the 1940s and a version, which was close to what was eventually built, was shown in the exhibition, ‘Coventry of the Future’ in 1945. This drew large crowds and general admiration which, in turn, prompted the Ministry to authorise grants to purchase and develop 274 acres in June 1947. The final plan was approved in 1949, but by this time work had already started on site; the Levelling Stone was placed on Victory Day in 1946 and Broadgate landscaped in the following year. On 22 May 1948 Princess Elizabeth opened Broadgate Square and laid the foundation stone of Broadgate House, the first building of the new city centre.

The North and South link blocks of the Upper Precinct were built in 1954-1956 and designed by WS Hattrell and Partners, who were also responsible for the design of the Leofric Hotel in Broadgate. An essential idea behind the form of the precinct was that it should have shopping on two levels, in the manner of the Chester Rows, with an upper walkway approached by curved flights of steps. At ground floor level these walkways continued the covered route, a feature of the precinct which extends from the colonnades in Broadgate to the canopies which project over the shop fronts at the western end of the Precinct and along Market Way and Smithford Way.

Shops at the upper level were serviced by ramps to the rear of each link block, which led up to a service yard and delivery doors. The ramps on the southern side survive, but those on the north have been removed and replaced by a service lift. None of the shops have retained their original layout at ground floor level but the plain upper floors, largely used as offices and for storage, have been less altered. Most retain their original fenestration and glass doors out to the balconies and there are instances of sanitary ware and door furniture dating from the mid-C20.

The aerial pedestrian walkway that joined both sides of the precinct was replaced in the 1990s and given cast iron supports. Escalators under a green glass canopy were installed in 1986 on the north side in place of the earlier curved staircases and a ramp approach was built in 1979 to lead up to the shops at first floor level. The paving of the piazza was replaced with coloured brick setts and the original landscaping was changed during this same period of change.

Reasons for Listing

The North and South Link Blocks and the Piazza of the Upper Precinct, Coventry are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* the buildings are good examples of post-war commercial architecture with individual presence, which also have clear group value with the other structures of the Upper and Lower Precinct in Coventry, including Broadgate House (Grade II);
* the architects, WS Hattrell, responded to the new challenge offered by a pedestrian precinct and the carefully-designed buildings which surround the piazza were intended to form a backdrop to this as well as following the pattern established by Broadgate House (Grade II);
* the retention of original features such as metal-framed windows, cladding, finishes and the delivery ramps to the rear of the south side.

Historic interest:

* the buildings are a prominent part of the Precinct development in Coventry, the first such planned development in England;
* as a clear assertion of the spirit of the vibrant and re-born city of Coventry after the damage which it suffered in the Second World War.

External Links

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