Summary

A Weighbridge Office thought to date from after 1810, with associated C19 weighbridge.

Description

MATERIALS: The office building is constructed of brick with a slate roof, and the weighbridge is cast iron.

PLAN: The office has a wedge-shaped plan, with a curved facade facing the canal basin. The rectangular weighbridge is on the south side of the office, with adjacent gatepiers.

EXTERIOR: The building has a curved facade facing the canal basin to the east; this facade has a central timber door under a flat arch lintel with a central keystone. There is a dentil course around the whole building, which sits under a slate roof and the curved elevation has a tall chimney at its northern end.

To the south there is a large, probably C20 opening with concrete lintel and cill, and a smaller opening under a brick arch. There are large brick gatepiers with modern gates; the northern pier is attached to the office building.

The northern elevation has a door opening which has been altered to form a window, and a large window adjacent; both with flat arch lintels and keystones. There is a further small opening to the west.

South of the building is a rectangular cast iron weighbridge supplied by W & T Avery Ltd of London and Birmingham. An inscription on the plate identifies it as being capable of weighing ten tons.

INTERIOR: The building is understood to retain the weighbridge mechanism and balance bar internally, and has a cast iron fireplace with a brick surround, and dado height timber panelling.

History

The Coventry Canal Company was formed in 1768, and commissioned the engineer James Brindley to develop the canal which would connect Coventry with Fradley Junction, approximately 38 miles to the north. The basin at Coventry was completed in 1769, although the final sections of the canal were not finished until 1790.

The Weighbridge Office is thought to date from after 1810, and functioned as a toll office with weighbridges on either side, and machinery internally for the weighing of vehicles entering and leaving the basin. It is understood that there were originally two weighbridges; that to the north no longer survives.

Reasons for Listing

The Weighbridge and Weighbridge Office of post 1810 at Coventry Canal are listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: as a good surviving example of an early C19 Weighbridge Office, with good detailing;
* Historic interest: for their association with the development of Coventry Canal, which was laid out by James Brindley;
* Group value: with the surviving canal basin, warehouse and other canal structures.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26677891

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

• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas