Summary
A gentlemen's club of 1867 by Michael Drury, later a hotel with alterations during the 1890s by Goddard & Sons and Messers W Watkins & Sons, and further alterations during the C20.
Description
A gentlemen's club of 1867 by Michael Drury, later a hotel with alterations during the 1890s by Goddard & Sons and Messers W Watkins & Sons, and further alterations during the C20.
MATERIALS: the building is built of brick with stone dressings.
PLAN: the building is orientated roughly east-west, and faces south onto St Mary's Street. It is comprised of the central block with flanking wings, and two projecting wings to the rear.
EXTERIOR: the main block of the building is six bays wide and is of four storeys plus basement. The present main entrance is at the centre of the building, and is recessed behind an ornamental stone surround with pilasters and columns supporting a deep hood with carved detailing to the spandrels and corbels supporting a cornice above. The original main entrance is housed in the left-hand bay of the central block, with a surround of quoins and keystone with a carved face. Windows at ground floor have arched heads, all with moulded hoodmoulds linked by a stringcourse. The basement windows have been blocked and rendered over.
Windows at first floor level are square headed in moulded surrounds supported on corbels, and at second floor the surrounds have scroll and shell detailing to the heads. Third floor windows have stone cills and recessed brick surrounds; throughout the windows themselves are single pane sashes. Above the third floor windows are projecting eaves supported on corbels, with plain brick panels and corbel level, alternating between the windows.
To the left of the main block is a wing of three storeys; the ground floor windows have the same treatment as those on the main block, and there are quoins lining the edges at ground floor level. The first and second floors have two windows each, in plain brick surrounds and there are changes in the brick denoting the location of the large oriel window originally, and an area of possible rebuilding above.
Right of the main block is a single storey wing with a central Venetian window and moulded balustrade above, with a domed roof.
The side elevation to the east has some stone detailing to the windows and a large projecting chimney; to the rear the elevations are largely plain brick with further chimneys and irregular fenestration. There is a bay window facing a courtyard to the rear.
INTERIOR: the central main entrance opens into a wide hall with a short flight of steps leading to an arched screen which divides the entrance space from the staircase beyond. The arches of the screen are supported on columns and pilasters painted to look like marble, with Corinthian capitals. The staircase is a wide space with decorative cornicing, and the stair itself, which rises from ground to second floor level, is open-well with moulded handrail and balusters. There is a secondary stair which rises the full height of the building with stick balusters and moulded newel posts.
To the right of the main entrance at ground floor is the former dining room which now has modern fittings; a room beyond has a large bay window with plain cornice and deep skirtings. The coffee room of the 1890s extension survives with its Venetian window and decorative plasterwork supported at cornice level on capitals which bear the initials 'AH', and central dome above. Other rooms at ground floor level also retain some cornicing, skirtings, and doors, and the original visitors' waiting room retains its fireplace and surround. The former smoking room and billiard room have modern fittings and have been opened up, though the line of the former divide between them is discernible.
At basement level there is a central, arched passage from which numerous rooms are accessed, including the former kitchen which retains a cast iron range, and former manager's parlour with a surviving fireplace.
The upper floors of the building have some later subdivisions largely to form en-suite bathrooms and bedrooms, and there are inserted partitions on the main landing at each level. There is much surviving interior woodwork and cornicing throughout.
History
The building now known as the Barbican Hotel was built in 1867 as a gentlemen's club called the Lincoln Club House, for the Lincoln Club Company, and was designed by local architect Michael Drury. Original plans show the building had the suites of rooms which would be expected of a gentlemen's club around this time, including rooms for dining, luncheon, smoking, reading and billiards at ground floor level, with a large saloon at first floor level and a suite of bedrooms, and further bedrooms to the upper floors. The basement floor had the kitchen and associated service rooms, with office and parlour for the manager and a servants' room. The original building consisted of the main block with the flanking wing to the west, and historic photos and plans show that the first floor saloon in this wing was originally lit by a full-height oriel window with a large lantern in the roof above. There were also windows at basement level originally, now blocked. The main entrance to the building was originally through the left hand door of the main block.
The club was sold within six years of its opening and was changed to the Club Hotel in 1873, before changing again in 1876 to the Albion Hotel and it is understood to have operated under this name until 1983 when it changed to the Barbican Hotel. The building is thought to have been altered during 1895 by Goddard and Son architects, though it is not known precisely what these alterations involved. It was altered again in 1898 with the addition of the east wing extension by Messrs W Watkins and Son. This new wing contained new smoking and coffee rooms. It is likely that the new main entrance at the centre of the main block was also added around this time, with the new entrance hall occupying the space of the former luncheon room.
There were further alterations in 1912 and 1927, and again in the 1960s when the 1920s work was removed as was the interior of the 1898 smoking room. During the latter part of the C20 the eastern side of the building was converted for use as a public house, and the western part as a restaurant. At some point during the C20 the first floor saloon was subdivided to form two floors for further bedrooms, with the loss of the oriel window and roof lantern.
Michael Drury, architect of the original build, was a Lincoln architect who specialised largely in ecclesiastical work, including restoration of medieval churches. He was also, from 1868, Lincoln City Surveyor with responsibility for the creation of a new drainage and sewerage scheme for the city. The practice which designed the eastern extension, W Watkins and Son, were also local to Lincoln and produced much work in the city and further afield.
The Barbican Hotel closed in 2008 and is currently (2021) vacant.
Reasons for Listing
The Barbican Hotel, of 1867 by Michael Drury, with alterations in the 1890s by Goddard & Son and Messers W Watkins & Son and subsequent C20 alterations, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* the building survives as a strong palazzo composition with imposing central block and flanking wings; its detailing is of good execution and later losses have not undermined the overall impression of quality;
* the 1890s eastern wing is an addition of particular note, providing a small statement piece in its own right which complements the original building;
* the interior survives well overall, with its grand central stair and secondary stair, discernible original layout and 1890s coffee room with ornate plasterwork.
Historic interest:
* the building has good interest as an example of an 1860s gentlemen's club, despite its short-lived existence as such;
* later conversion to a hotel adds to the interest of the building's development over time;
* association with known architects gives additional interest.
Group value:
* the building has strong group value with the Grade II listed station buildings opposite.
External Links
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
Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)