8-10 High Street, Leicester, City of Leicester

Summary

Shop premises built in 1896 to the designs of Henry Langton Goddard.

Description

Shop premises built in 1896 to the designs of Henry Langton Goddard.

MATERIALS: red brick laid in English bond and moulded buff terracotta with a roof covering of slate.

PLAN: the building occupies the rounded pinnacle of a long, narrow triangular site between the High Street and Silver Street.

EXTERIOR: the three-storey, seven-bay building is in an eclectic style combining Baroque and Queen Anne elements. The central three bays which form the rounded front and the two bays facing the High Street are given a flamboyant architectural treatment in terracotta, whilst the two subsidiary bays facing Silver Street are in brick. At ground-floor level the five principal bays have large windows divided by panelled pilasters, and a fascia in a similar style, none of which are original. The three-light, double-leaf pedimented doors have narrow margin lights and a rectangular fanlight (all with replaced glass), and retain a pair of Egyptian style brass drop handles. The upper two storeys are faced in terracotta. The bays of the second storey are divided by square pilasters which have moulded acanthus leaf capitals and egg-and-dart enriched cornices. These support an entablature with a plain frieze and block modillion cornice which breaks forward in line with the pilasters. The bays are lit by large four-light segmental headed showroom windows which have mullions and small square glazing bars to the upper lights. The third storey is more elaborate still with bay divisions in the form of pedestals with moulded caps and cartouches upon which winged terms stand to support the entablature with its egg-and-dart enriched cornice. Each bay has a low parapet of pierced segmental arches with prominent voussoirs, and is lit by three two-over-two-pane sash windows which are divided by round attached columns with simplified composite capitals, flanked by consoles. The steeply pitched, part conical roof has deep eaves and is lit by five tripartite lunette dormers which have a dentilled architrave and moulded mullions. The roof is surmounted at the east end by an octagonal open-sided cupola which has Tuscan columns supporting an architrave with modillions, and a bell-shaped copper roof with a ball finial that rises into a spike. The west end of the roof (where it joins with the adjacent building) has a brick parapet capped in terracotta and a wide chimney stack with a dentilled cornice flanked by consoles. In contrast, the two south-facing brick bays are plain. Paired C20 doorways in the left bay lead down to the basement and up to the back stairs which are lit by four four-light casement windows under segmental brick arches, as are all the windows in these two bays. To the left is a narrow two-light stained glass window with decorative leaded lights on the second floor. The right-hand bay is lit by four-light casements.

INTERIOR: the ground floor is an open plan space. The ceiling is divided into a geometric pattern by moulded and dentilled timber beams (some painted white), the two junctions where they meet supported by circular columns with bell capitals embellished by acanthus leafs. The two upper floors are similar, except the beams and capitals become increasingly plainer. There are a number of late C19 doors remaining but otherwise the shop fittings are modern.

History

The shop was built in 1896 for the Paget Trustees and was originally occupied by the gentlemans’ outfitters Hoggett’s. The architect, Henry Langton Goddard (1866-1944), was at this time a junior partner in Goddard, Paget and Goddard, a prolific and successful family practice based in Leicester. There are many buildings on the List associated with this practice, notably the Grade II* listed former Leicestershire Banking Co. HQ on Granby Street (1872-74) and the prominent Grade II listed Gothic revival Clock Tower in the Haymarket (1868), both in Leicester. H. L. Goddard, the son of Joseph Goddard, attended Wadham College, Oxford, where he met one of the honorary Fellows Thomas Graham Jackson whose eclectic architectural style profoundly affected Goddard’s own output. In 1888, after a spell in Jackson’s office, Goddard joined the family firm which in turn was influenced by this eclectic mix of Renaissance and Baroque, invested by Goddard’s first-hand knowledge of these styles gained through numerous tours abroad.

8-10 High Street was one of the few buildings to escape demolition when the road was widened between 1902 and 1904 by the Leicester Corporation in order to accommodate tramlines for an expanded tram network. In the 1970s an opening was made in the party wall with the adjoining premises of 12-14 High Street (which is not part of this designation). The shop has been subject to other alterations, notably the removal of the principal staircase, and the replacement of the pilasters, fascia and windows of the shop front at ground-floor level. The building has remained in its original commercial use.

Reasons for Listing

8-10 High Street, shop premises built in 1896 to the designs of Henry Langton Goddard, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Architectural quality: it is a particularly good example of an exuberant late Victorian shop ornamented with finely worked terracotta and multiple tiers of decoration sweeping around the curved frontage of its rounded corner site, terminating in an eye-catching conical roof;

* Architect: it is the creation of an accomplished and confident architect whose practice produced work that has been extensively recognised on the statutory List, notably in Leicester where they were based;

* Group value: it contributes to the distinctive turn-of the-century commercial character of the city centre, and has strong group value with the classical Lloyd’s Bank (1903) to the north and the Silver Arcade (1891) to the south, both listed at Grade II.

External Links

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