Description

TQ 1869 SW KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES ASHDOWN ROAD

59-0/ 7a/10000 Kingston Sorting Office

II

Purpose built telephone exchange. Erected 1907 and opened in June
1908. Architect John Rutherford, an architect working in the
Ministry of Works. Arts and Crafts style, asymmetrical plan.
Built of red brick in Flemish bond with stone dressings and slate
roof. Entrance front of butterfly plan has central clustered
brick and stone chimneystack and end gables with stone coping and
kneelers on pilasters. Attics have tripartite slit windows. Right
hand gable has 2 storey canted bay with pilasters separating
bays, with curved iron casements to 1st floor and mullioned and
transomed windows to ground floor. 2 storey projection in angle
of the L has 2 casements with stone surrounds and left side round
headed doorcase with hood moulding on brackets, tripartite
fanlight and double doors. To left are 2 curved casements to the
1st floor and mullioned and transomed casements to the ground
floor. Attached by brick wall is low stone wall with iron spear
railings whose principals embody elaborate insignia of Edward VII
and cast iron lamp. Left side elevation has half hipped roof with
continous 12 light dormer. 5 round headed casements to 1st floor
and left side doorcase approached up a flight of steps with iron
handrail. Tripartite casements to ground floor. Right side
elevation is blank but with large canopy to far end. Internally
there is a mosaic-tiled entrance hall, clerk's office to the
left, manager's office to the right with engineers just beyond
that. There is a large open plan "test room" with a small
"battery room" at the far end. On the 1st floor the cloakrooms,
kitchen and dining room correspond to the offices below with a
large "switch" room corresponding to the "test room". The floor
is supported on simple Doric cast iron columns. The roof is of
simple steel truss construction. Solid wood block doors
throughout and some white glazed tiles.

Listing NGR: TQ1817769087

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26354353

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

• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)