The Birkin Building in the Lace Market in Nottingham was designed by Thomas Chambers Hine another architect who, like Watson Fothergill, made a big impact on the city. It was, of course, a lace warehouse made for Richard Birkin, a lace manufacturer, in 1855.
Above the gateway you can see Hine’s initials, on the left with an architect’s motif of dividers and square, plus the initials of Birkin’s sons and the builders initials, G and H for Garland and Holland.
Hine always made decorative doorways most of which have survived, such as that below.
It wasn’t just the warehouse built here, however, but a new street, Broadway, which was laid out with a curve in the centre so that when viewed from either end it would appear to be a cul-de-sac, a feature designed to impress visitors.
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