Former Stanley Council Chambers, Stanley, County Durham

Summary

Former council offices, 1911 by J W Wilson of Sutton Coldfield, with later alterations. Edwardian Baroque style. The C20 rear extension is excluded from the listing.

Description

Former Council offices, 1911 by J W Wilson of Sutton Coldfield, with later alterations. Baroque style.

MATERIALS: red brick construction with a sandstone ashlar principal elevation; roof of large grey slates.

PLAN: rectangular on a site that slopes from south to north thus creating two storeys and a basement to the south elevation, and three storeys to the rear.

EXTERIOR: situated in a prominent position on Stanley high street adjacent to the former board school. Windows are mostly fitted with original small-paned or single-paned casements.

The main south elevation is symmetrical in design, and constructed of sandstone ashlar with two storeys plus basement and attic. It has three wide bays, the two end bays in the form of open-pedimented gables, flanking a central entrance bay. The main entrance has a semi-circular porch with two Ionic columns and a deep dentilled entablature, reached by a set of original circular stone steps. The wide main entrance is flanked to either side by narrow sidelights, and above is a dentilled tympanum bearing the year '1910' in relief. The entrance retains original double panelled doors with a small-paned overlight. Above this there is a recessed, full-width stone mullioned-and-transomed window which terminates in a curved dentilled cornice.

The outer bays with pitched roofs, have rusticated pilasters framing three two and three light ground floor windows with long keys, and the central window has a scroll, all beneath a stone entablature. There are stone aprons below the windows, and the pilasters extend down to ground level with blind arch detailing; this is partially obscured to the left end bay by an early-C21 stone ramp, and to the right end bay by a C20 brick wall encircling a basement extension extending beneath the pavement. Above this, a dentilled open pediment rests on first-floor Ionic pilasters which frame shallow three-light oriel windows with side lights, under a long key. There are Diocletian windows to each pediment, from which long radiating voussoirs extend to the eaves band of the pediment in the form of an early sunburst design. A large C20 dormer fills the space between and behind the pediments.

The long, left return has a rear, tall stone chimney stack, and a stone entablature. The ground floor has four tall and narrow windows with keys. There is a five-light stone mullioned and transomed first floor window with a rectangular window to either side, each beneath a straight pediment, and terminating in a dentilled eaves cornice.

The three-bay rear elevation is also symmetrical, and of three-storey plus attic; the basement cellar here forms the ground floor of the building. The end bays have open-pedimented gables and dentilled ashlar pediments, a projecting second floor sill band, a stone band forming lintels to the ground floor openings, and stone quoins up to second floor level. There are five, wide, segmental-arched window openings to the first and second floors , the pair in each end bay flanking a tall, narrow rectangular window; that to the left end bay second floor is blind. There is also a lunette to each pediment, blind to the left side. The ground floor has multiple door and window openings with stone heads and mullions.

The C20 single-storey rear extension is not of special interest and is excluded from the listing.

INTERIOR: the original plan of the building is largely retained across all floors, and chimney breasts mostly remain throughout. Some walls and ceilings throughout the building have recently (early C21) been stripped of wall and ceiling plaster, but there is an overall good survival of original geometric decorative plaster work as well as original joinery and some cast-iron radiators.

Basement: a series of service rooms including boiler room and stores, mostly with exposed brick or painted or glazed walls. It is a generally plain and utilitarian space in which rooms are connected by round-headed openings. One of the rooms retains original boarded walls and ceiling, two sinks and a cast iron radiator. There is an original back stair to the first floor with handrails, and turned newel posts. The original rear wall of the building is exposed with an original, stone, round-headed opening.

Ground floor: the main public entrance with original double timber doors opens into an entrance lobby, also with original, double timber and glazed doors; there is a replacement door to basement stairs (left) and a C20 lift (right). The lobby opens into a centrally-placed main reception area and stair hall. This has a terrazzo floor and geometric decorative plaster work to the walls and ceiling. Original doors open into several smaller rooms, some of which have been partitioned from former large rooms, set around all sides of the hall. These rooms were mostly interview rooms and offices, and mostly retain original decorative finishes in the form of cornices, picture rails and skirtings, and some original timber doors. An original WC retains some Edwardian brown glazed tiles, and original doors to cubicles, and a dumb waiter is retained in an adjacent room. Beneath a flat plaster stair arch with paired brackets to each end, the wide, oak, open-well staircase with turned handrails and newel posts, rises to the upper floors via an ornate first-floor landing.

First floor: the centrally-placed first floor landing has a decorative plaster ceiling and panelled walls; there are five original stained oak doors in architraves, some with small-paned overlights, opening into rooms placed around all sides. These include double panelled doors with oval windows to the council chamber, set within an ornate plaster surround with a straight pediment. Despite some removal of decorative plasterwork, the council chamber retains much of its original decorative panelling including a central perforated ventilation to ceiling, curved plasterwork, coving, a pedimented cornice, and skirtings. The inside of the entrance is also ornately treated with a dentilled architrave and segmental pediment. The ante chamber retains decorative joinery including picture rails, architraves and skirtings. An adjacent office retaining an architrave to a blocked doorway, formerly linked to the council chamber, suggests this room was probably council leader’s office. A store cupboard retains original shelves, and one meeting room has a decorative ceiling, coving, picture rail and deep floorboards in situ.

Attic floor: mostly a series of small offices opening off a central stair hall. The central part is a mid-C20 addition, and historic fittings or finishes are absent throughout.

History

Stanley Council Chambers was built in 1911 for Stanley Urban District Council, to designs of John Wilson of Sutton Coldfield. The building remained in use as Stanley Council Office, until the 1974 local government reorganisation, when it became council offices for the newly created Derwentside District Council. In 2009 Durham County Council became a unitary authority, and the building was used as the Customer Access Point for Council services, after which it has been empty for several years. Mid-C20 and early C21 alterations include: the removal of a low stone wall with decorative railings to the front and the construction of a modern brick wall with railings and an access ramp; the addition of a rear extension and fire escape; a basement kitchen extension; roof extensions with dormer windows; and the removal of most chimney pieces. Between 2021 and the present (October 2023) extensive areas of decorative plaster to various walls and ceilings were removed, along with the remaining two chimney pieces recorded in 2020 as part of water ingress and damp treatment.

John Wilfred Wilson (1885-1954) was born in Sutton Coldfield, and spent his early career as assistant clerk to a building surveyor. He began private practice in 1908, mainly designing houses, shops, department stores and offices. He became Architect to the Austin Motor Company in 1916, and by 1921 he was working for wealthy clients in Shanghai. In 1927 he returned to England and continued private practice in Birmingham. He designed a number of houses in the 1930s including timber-framed Tuderesque designs and 'Pantiles', an Art Deco house for himself. The only other building he is known to have designed and which has survived is the United Reform Church at Knowle (1932). He eventually served, amongst other roles, as architect on the panel of Birmingham War Factories Joint Committee. After the war he became Architect to the Dunlop Rubber Co Ltd working on the post-war building programme in the UK and overseas, before returning to private practice.

Stanley Council Chambers building was completed in 1911, when Wilson was 26, making it one of his earliest and largest buildings. His connection with Stanley, Durham or the North East is unclear, and the design does not fit with his later building style, other than his preference for emphasised gables.

Reasons for Listing

The former Stanley Council Offices of 1911 by J W Wilson of Sutton Coldfield, with later alterations, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* a robust symmetrical composition by a known architect, that conveys solidity and has a strong street presence within the town it was built to serve;
* a well-detailed Edwardian Baroque design that utilises good-quality materials, and which is enlivened by pediments, entablatures, giant keys, Ionic pilasters and columns, and sunburst motifs;
* the original internal plan-form is largely retained across all floors, and illustrates the hierarchy of functions and services inherent within an early-C20 town hall, including the elegant staircase and hall, and an ornate council chamber and associated rooms to the first floor;
* despite some recent stripping of wall and ceiling plaster, much of the original decorative plaster scheme and joinery is retained throughout the two main floors.

External Links

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