Details
TL 8428-8528
8/62
EARLS COLNE
FOUNDRY LANE (west side)
No. 2 (stable range and ancillary buildings of Atlas Works) and No. 4
GV
II
Stable range and ancillary buildings of foundry. 1886-94. Red brick in English and Flemish bond, with dressings of yellow, white and blue bricks, roofed with slate. Aligned north-south along the west side of Foundry Lane, mainly with entrances into the yard to the west; with a small office block at the south end, set back from the remainder, with entrance to Foundry Lane. The central part of the long range is of two storeys, the wings on each side of one storey. Owing to the gradient the most southerly part of the long range is stepped down from the remainder.
No 4, the office block, is of two storeys. Elevation to Foundry Lane, central block, in three bays with pilasters of yellow brick. One original cast iron casement with semi-circular head, and semi-circular arch of yellow brick. Three C20 wooden casements. Six original cast iron vents. Plinth in English bond approximately one metre high, double-chamfered at the top, and Flemish bond above. Central cast iron plaque with '1894' in raised lettering. Low-pitched roof with central louvred wooden lantern, square with a pyramidal roof, supporting a weathervane with a turned stem and iron rabbit, the trademark of Reuben Hunt. Axial chimney at right end. The lower block to the right is of eight unequal bays, with similar plinth and pilasters. One axial stack. Two original cast-iron casements like that in the central block, and four original sashes of 16 lights with flat arches of white brick with segmental soffits. One original cast iron vent. Double three-panel doors set back within jambs and segmental arch of two orders of rounded blue engineering bricks. Cast iron plaque at right end with raised lettering 'R. Hunt & Co. Ltd., Atlas Works'. Low-pitched roof, with two-faceted hip at right end, projecting and supported on one iron stanchion and two iron brackets with diminishing circles in the spandrels, with turned finial at the apex.
The range to the left is in one long and four short bays, with pilasters of yellow brick and similar plinth. One original cast iron casement in the long bay, similar to the others. Low-pitched roof. The lower range further to the left is in eleven bays with short pilasters of red brick and similar plinth. Central cast iron plaque with raised lettering 'Built by Reuben Hunt 1886'. Near left end, wrought iron bracket for missing gas lamp, with square holder. Two asymmetrical north light roofs at the left end, with two louvred wooden vents in each gable, the remainder low-pitched.
No. 4, set back, is of red brick with yellow brick quoins and dressings. Two original four-light sashes with segmental arches with dropped key bricks. Central porch with plain door to front with similar arch, and one two-light sash in each side wall and cornice and dogtooth course of white bricks. Wrought iron bracket over door for missing gas lamp, with twisted stem, scrolled bracket and square holder. One stone step. Curvilinear gable with stone parapet and recessed cast iron plaque with raised lettering 'R. Hunt 1886'. The west elevation of the two storey block has a recessed ground floor with two original horizontal sashes of 12 lights, one C20 casement and two C20 doors. The upper storey is supported on two cast iron stanchions with moulded bases and caps, with raised lettering 'F. Christy, Chelmsford', and has two original horizontal sashes of 12 lights, a central plain pitching door with gabled canopy on scrolled brackets, turned pendant, and cast iron plaque with raised lettering 'R. Hunt 1894', and plain pilasters. The range to the south of it has one closed and three open bays, one post replaced by a steel girder, and a softwood roof with raking queen struts, boarded, mainly original. The range further south has eight open bays, and the original softwood roof with raking queen struts, boarded, and cast iron brackets to alternate posts. (J. Booker, Essex and the Industrial Revolution, 1974, 82). To the south west, later workshops are physically connected to the buildings described here, but they are of less historical and architectural interest. See item 8/61.
Listing NGR: TL8556028816
