Built in 1877 by R C Sutton in red brick this was originally a chemist’s shop, then a restaurant and then a shop again. It is quite a striking building, designed to have a continuous shopfront with plate glass windows though right now the windows are boarded up and there doesn’t appear to be any business based there.
Now the Conservation Centre for National Museums Liverpool this was originally a warehouse built for storing rail freight for the Midland Railway in 1872. Designed by Henry Sumners it’s made of red brick with arched openings on each of the four walls large enough for freight to pass through. It was designated a Grade II listed building in 1975.
When I took photos of this building next to Russell Square it was the Hotel Russell but now it is the five star Kimpton Fitzroy London. Built in 1898 by the architect Charles Fitzroy Doll it was opened in 1900 and its terracotta decoration was apparently based on the Chateau de Madrid near Paris which was demolished in the 1790s.
Minerva House on North Crescent in Camden is a Grade II building that started out as a car showroom and offices for the Minerva Motor Company. They were a Belgian car company operating from 1902 until 1938. It was designed by George Vernon and the building itself dates from around 1912. The logo of the car company was the goddess Minerva – hence the statue of the goddess above the entrance.
Bodlondeb Castle in Llandudno was built as a house in the 1890s for Thomas P Davies. Davies, who was the manager of the local St George’s Hotel, had been commissioned by a rich guest staying at the hotel who wished to remain anonymous to build the castle. However, once he returned after the building had been completed and realised that it didn’t come with a big enough plot of land he declared he was no longer interested and left, leaving Davies with a huge building to try and get rid of. It was unsurprisingly known locally thereafter as Davies’ Folly.
Originally this very impressive lion – made of Coade stone (a type of ceramic stone which is particularly resistant to weathering) – was mounted on top of James Goding’s Lion Brewery building in the 1830s. He was sculpted by William Frederick Woodington and stayed in place until 1949 when the brewery was demolished to make way for the Royal Festival Hall.
Currently the address of a large Foyle’s bookshop, 107 Charing Cross, built in 1938, used to house the college for the Distributive Trades and St Martin’s School of Art.
One of the last remaining Georgian office buildings in this area of London (it can be found on the corner of Cheapside and King Street in the City of London) it was designed in 1836 by Thomas Hopper. He was commissioned by the Atlas Assurance Company, a fire and life insurance company, and took inspiration from classical Italian architecture.
Birmingham City Council House is an imposing building that faces onto Victoria Square. The side of the building which faces Chamberlain Street is part of the Museum and Art Gallery. The land for the building was purchased in 1853 but it wasn’t until 1879 that the building was completed following a competition which Yeoville Thomason’s design won.
The Royal Exchange building in London was founded in the 16th century by Sir Thomas Gresham as a centre of commerce. Twice it was destroyed by fire – the present building was designed by Sir William Tite in the 1840s. These days it houses various shops, cafes and restaurants.
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