Summary
Former maternity hospital Staff Block (part Block 9), comprised of a former Vicarage, 1842, designed in the Tudor-Gothic style by the renowned architect James Piggot Pritchett (1789 to 1868), with C20 and C21 alterations.
Reasons for Designation
The former Staff Block (Block 9), Princess Royal Community Hospital, originally built as a vicarage in 1842, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* it was designed by the renowned architect James Piggot Pritchett (1789 to 1868) and is a good example of his work;
* for its striking Tudor-Gothic design and stylistic continuity to both the exterior and interior;
* the quality of workmanship and materials is of the highest standard;
* it largely retains its original plan and interior decorative detail.
Historic interest:
* the concept of the design of the vicarage shows the influences of the Oxford Movement, which placed a great emphasis on the dignity of worship and the status of the clergy, and the closely aligned Ecclesiology Movement that advocated the purity of Gothic architecture, leading to the provision of a good-quality detached vicarage with Gothic detailing inside and out, standing in a walled garden, that befitted the status of the incumbent.
History
Until the end of the C18 Huddersfield had been a small township of little note, however, from the early 1800's, under the influence of the Ramsden family and George Loch (agent of the Trustees of the Ramsden Estate); it grew rapidly into a major wool manufacturing town. The Ramsdens imbued considerable civic pride into the development of the town, commissioning well-respected architects such as Sir William Tite, James Piggot Pritchett, and William H Crossland, to undertake the design of the major civic buildings.
In 1840, the Reverend Josiah Bateman was appointed the vicar of the parish church of St Peter, Huddersfield, but on moving into the then vicarage, he described it as "...a very old building in the worst part of the town with a garden attached in which nothing green would grow ... all was hemmed in by tall chimneys and wretched buildings". After living in these conditions, several of his family fell ill and Reverend Bateman called a vestry meeting at which he, in effect, laid down an ultimatum - if a new vicarage was not built in a healthier part of the town, he would leave. The ultimatum clearly had the desired result, as shortly afterwards, a two and three-quarter acre plot of land was acquired on the western edge of the town on Greenhead Road 680m to the west of the church, where a new vicarage, designed by the eminent architect James Pritchett, was built at the cost of £2,200.
The new vicarage was completed in 1842, and the design of the vicarage shows the influences of both the Oxford Movement, which placed great emphasis on the dignity of worship and that of the clegy, and the closely aligned Ecclesiology Movement that advocated the purity of Gothic architecture. It was built in the fashionable Tudor-Gothic style inside and out, with similarities in appearance to Pritchett's Minster Song School, York, and Huddersfield Technical College. The two-storey vicarage had a rectangular-plan with a central staircase and integral services on its northern side. In addition, an L-plan stables, carriage house, stores, and a walled yard (now demolished) were attached to the centre of the north elevation. It was approached from the east through a walled garden by a sweeping, 78m long carriage drive, which was bounded by shrubs on its northern side, and terminated in an oval turning area outside the main entrance.
The house retained its role as a vicarage until 1928, when it became the Huddersfield Municipal Maternity Home. This new use resulted in a number of changes, which included a two-storey extension with a matching crenelated parapet as a nurses' home, built against the north elevation of the vicarage, and a new single-storey bungalow-style maternity ward, built 15m to the south. However, it quickly become apparent that the maternity home was much too small to meet demand, so plans were drawn up to build three new wards, all linked by external corridors, and an additional two-storey nurses accommodation block, together with a single-storey stores extension. The new buildings were opened in July 1939 by Princess Mary, the then Princess Royal, and in 1940, the complex was given the new name of the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital. The site remained a maternity hospital for 56 years, with minor alterations and additions to the buildings including a single-storey annexe (Building 1) added during the mid-1960s, and an immersion birthing suite in about 1980. The last baby born at the hospital was in October 1984, after which, it became the Princess Royal Community Hospital.
James Piggot Pritchett (1789 to 1868) was an eminent architect and is mentioned in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. He designed several important public buildings in York, was architect to the Dean and Chapter of York Minster and, for 50 years, was retained as the surveyor and architect to three successive Earls Fitzwilliam of Wentworth Woodhouse. He was a prominent member of the Congregationalist Church in York and designed several buildings across Yorkshire. He has numerous listed buildings to his name in Huddersfield, including: Grade I listed Huddersfield Railway Station, St George's Square; Grade II* listed Lion Buildings, John William Street; the Parish Church of St Peter, Kirkgate; and the Grade II Mortuary Chapel in Centre of Edgerton Cemetery, Cemetery Road (National Heritage List for England: 1277385, 1134167, 1134977, and 1313807 respectively). The design of the former vicarage is also comparable to the Grade II listed Minster Song School (Part), Minster Yard, York, and the Huddersfield Technical College, Department of Humanities (Highfield Annexe), New North Road (NHLE: 1257259 and 1279306 respectively).
Details
Former maternity hospital Staff Block (part Block 9), comprised of a former Vicarage, 1842, designed in the Tudor-Gothic style by the renowned architect James Piggot Pritchett (1789 to 1868), with C20 and C21 alterations.
MATERIALS: ashlar block construction with ashlar detailing and dressings, hipped slate and pitched gable roofs, with terracotta ridge tiles.
PLAN: rectangular-plan, two-storey building raised on a plinth, with a slightly projecting crenelated parapet that partially obscures the hipped roofs that have outwardly projecting pitched gables to three elevations. The hipped roofs enclose a rectangular central well that has lower inner hipped ends and a large central skylight, lighting the main stairs below. The northern roof has two chimney stacks that rise above both slopes of the roof, each with moulded and faceted ashlar chimneys with splayed caps. A truncated chimney stack is situated in the inner slope of the southern roof.
EXTERIOR: the former Staff Block has a three-bay main (east) elevation that has a central entrance bay beneath a gable with a hooded finial, and inclined ashlar coping. It is flanked to either side by bays lit by bipartite stone mullioned four-light sash windows, with moulded surrounds, and hoodmoulds, beneath a slightly projecting crenelated parapet. The central bay breaks forward from the wall line and has a slightly projecting ground-floor tracery panel. The half-glazed frosted glass panelled front door is set within a moulded ashlar door surround that is approached by four ashlar steps. It has a four-centred arched glazed fanlight, which is decorated as a portcullis with a central quatrefoil boss. It is flanked by two similar shaped windows with cast-iron tracery grilles. The moulded surrounds rise to form a blind tricuspid panel beneath a hoodmould, topped by a plain parapet, bearing a shield with a date that reads 1842. Above and to the first floor are bipartite sashes set in a moulded stone lancet window, flanked by arrow loops.
The three-bay south side elevation is similar in appearance to the main elevation; however, the central bay is wider and the first-floor has a central bipartite stone mullioned four-light sash window with a hoodmould, flanked by similar narrow two-light sashes, set beneath a more depressed gable, pierced by a diamond-shaped moulded quatrefoil cusped vent. The central ground-floor doorway of the south side elevation is also flanked by narrow two-light sashes, but has been enclosed by an external link corridor. The attached link corridor is not of special interest and is not part of the listing.
The west elevation also has a similar appearance to the main elevation; however, the central bay does not project and it has a gable displaying a plain ashlar shield. The apex of the gable is also crowned by a projecting moulded and faceted ashlar chimney with a splayed cap. The elevation has a mixture of two, four, and six light windows with moulded surrounds and hoods. The attached former nurses' accommodation is not of special interest and is not part of the listing.
Apart from a short length of wall at the eastern corner, the original north elevation is hidden by later extensions; however, the crenelated parapet does remain exposed for its full length. The attached former nurses' accommodation extensions and the single-storey stores extension are not of special interest and are not part of the listing.
INTERIOR: the main entrance in the east elevation enters through a splayed doorway into a narrow rectangular hallway with encaustic tiles, dado rails, picture rails, and a coved ceiling. It has doorways leading from it that have Gothic-styled moulded architraves with corners decorated with quatrefoils. The right-hand doorway leads into the former dining room, the doorway to the left into a former study, and the one straight ahead into the central stair hall. The rectangular stair hall occupies the central space within the building and a mixture of original Gothic panelled doors and secondary plain four-panelled doors give access to all the principal ground- and second-floor rooms in the east and side ranges. The cantilevered main well staircase rises in two flights against the north wall, it has cast-iron Gothic tracery balusters (by the Walker Foundry, Walmgate, York), carved timber gothic panelled newel posts with pyramidal caps, and a moulded handrail. It rises to a cantilevered first-floor landing on two sides, beneath a central skylight in a deeply coved and moulded ceiling. A doorway in the wall at the base of the stairs leads into the former service range, served by a corridor with four-centred ceiling arches, and a service stair. A similar doorway directly above on the first floor also leads into the service range, and to the service stairs that has plain timber balusters. Although most of the rooms in the former staff block retain their chimney breasts, no fireplaces survive; however, Gothic arched alcoves, panelled doors, and some ceiling cornices remain extant.
Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared the attached nurses' accommodation, the single-storey stores block and the linking corridors, dating to 1928 and 1939, are not of special architectural or historic interest.
