Kingsway Health Centre and Associated Walls, Gates and Railings, Widnes, Halton

Description

36/0/10017 KINGSWAY
07-MAY-09 (East side)
Kingsway Health Centre and associated walls, gates and railings

II
Former health centre, 1938-9, by Austin T Parrott, steel frame clad in mellow red brick laid in Flemish garden wall bond, metal-framed windows, flat roof, mainly 2-storeys plus basement, Moderne style with Art Deco elements.

PLAN: Rectangular footprint with short rear projections. 2-storey U-shaped block composing front and side wings, 1 1/2 storey waiting room to centre rear, single storey L-shaped rear projections.

EXTERIOR: Parapet with rendered concrete copings conceals flat roof. Large multi-light windows in same style to all elevations. Bands of vertically laid headers in darker brick below windows and vertically laid stretchers above windows and beneath parapet (in darker brick above sun-trap windows). Front elevation: Symmetrical design. Glazed entrance tower to centre with extremely large 14-light window with geometric patterned glazing bars, lights continue around to each side at top of tower. Top lights and roof raised above parapet, which curves down into the tower. Wide main entrance with moulded surround to ground floor (doors replaced) with relief lettering above reading 'HEALTH CENTRE', large cantilevered moulded concrete hood above. Long 14-light horizontal window bands with vertical and horizontal glazing bars to both floors at each side of entrance tower. Projecting wings to each end of elevation with curved corners incorporating sun-trap windows (continuing around to side elevations) and shallow projecting front panels rising above parapet. Panels contain three vertical channels to ground floor and tall vertical window to first floor set within a wide channel with a small projecting brick and concrete feature with cantilevered metal balcony above.
Left (N) side elevation: Large window to centre of ground floor with flanking geometrically shaped concrete features attached vertically to wall with light fittings to underside, metal double doors accessed by steps to each side of central window with flanking side lights. Wall projects below in style of plinth with concrete copings, two slender piers rising from plinth flank each doorway; those to the outside are taller. Central window and doorways set beneath a continuous cantilevered concrete hood with curved edges to the inside above window. Two large windows to outer bays, sun-trap windows to each end of elevation. Eleven windows to first floor in same style as ground floor but slightly smaller with sun-trap windows to each curved end. S side elevation: Five windows to centre of each floor (those to ground floor are larger) flanked by full-height plain pilaster strips rising above parapet. Two windows to outside bays with sun-trap windows to each curved end of elevation. Rear elevation: External stack to right wing serving basement boiler. Entrance tower raised above roof level with door to rear leading on to roof terrace (hidden from view by parapet). Waiting room with three large multi-light windows with raised concrete banding detail above, two doorways with horizontal panelling set to each side of windows with horizontal windows above. Single-storey projections stepped in from edge of side wings, flat roofs continue across to form hoods above doorways, windows to side returns, door to left return of right projection with flanking brick piers in same style as those to left (N) side elevation. Rainwater hoppers with horizontal mouldings to all elevations.

INTERIOR: Original layout remains intact with waiting room to centre rear of building, glazed entrance/stair hall and reception to centre front occupying entrance tower, clinic rooms and offices to front and side wings and rear projections. Original features include doors, tiled walls to toilets and storage areas with patterned Art Deco coloured borders, large sinks with angled tiled units below, partly glazed cubicles with sliding doors, and concealed services including radiators set within dedicated wall alcoves. Entrance hall with cantilevered concrete open-well stair with metal 'ship's rail' type balustrade and wreathed newel post to ground floor set upon a circular concrete pier. Lower flight between ground floor and first half-landing is not cantilevered, bottom steps with chequerboard edge decoration fan outwards and curve into entrance hall. Green Vitrolite tiled walls to entrance hall and dados to stair and first floor landing. Large 1 1/2 storey waiting room lit by large multipaned skylights with doors with shaped architraves leading off into consulting and treatment rooms, later removable partitioning to rear of waiting room. Later inserted glazed screen and fire doors to first floor landing behind stair balustrade. First floor corridor alongside rear external wall of front wing lit by horizontal windows (hidden from view to rear elevation). Deep coved ceilings to first floor rooms and skylights to some rooms under later suspended ceilings. Front rooms to first floor of side wings with original built-in shelving. Plain plank and batten door to top of main stair leads to roof terrace.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: Tall brick wall (laid in Flemish garden wall bond) surmounted by concrete copings and decorative Art Deco iron balustrade with intermittent brick piers encloses site. W entrance with curved flanking walls and double gates with ironwork in same style as railings. Further gate in similar style to E end of S wall (providing vehicular access into rear car park). Pedestrian gate with more ornamental treatment towards W end of S wall. Low brick walls with rendered concrete copings in front of building surmounted by metal balustrades in same style as main boundary wall, short brick piers surmounted by tall globe electric lights incorporated into front wall flanking two steps in line with W entrance.

HISTORY: During the 1930s there was concern within Widnes that the town's scattered healthcare facilities were inadequate. In 1938 it was decided to build a central health clinic providing a full programme of facilities including dentistry, podiatry, and numerous consulting rooms. The Kingsway Health Centre was constructed under the supervision of the Widnes Borough Engineer's Department in 1938-9 to the designs of Austin T Parrott, and opened in August 1939 shortly before the outbreak of WWII. The main contractors for the building were Atlas Building & Construction Company of Warrington and the total construction cost was £18,000. The health centre remained in use until 2006 when a new building was constructed nearby.

SOURCES:
Pollard R & Pevsner N. 2006: The Buildings of England Series; Lancashire: Liverpool & the South-West, New Haven & London, Yale University Press, p652.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION:
Kingsway Health Centre is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* It is a rare example of a 1930s comprehensive health centre outside of London
* The building is a striking design in the Moderne style which also incorporates Art Deco elements both externally and internally
* It is well-preserved both externally and internally, and the original plan layout of the building remains intact
* The building's plan form, and the incorporation of large windows and skylights to every area, maximises light and air within the building, which echoes the designs of the Finsbury Health Centre, London (Grade I) and Pioneer Health Centre, Peckham (Grade II*)
* It has significant socio-historic interest in representing regional political will for improved public health and welfare provision during the 1930s, ten years before the creation of the NHS

Reasons for Listing

Kingsway Health Centre is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

External Links

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