3-51 Keith Street

Summary

Terrace of workers' housing. c1865, altered C20.

Reasons for Designation

This terrace of workers’ housing of 1865 is listed at grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic: as the last phase of Sir James Ramsden’s mid-C19 plan to accommodate the expanding working population of Barrow-in-Furness;
* Architectural: an attractive terrace of three-storey workers’ houses, with a unifying rhythm of detailing;
* Group value: the terrace benefits from functional and spatial group value with the listed houses, shops and flats of Duke Street, also of c1865 and part of the mid-C19 planned town development. (NHLE: 1283000, 1197893, 1292429 & 1197892).

History

In the mid-C19 the population of Barrow-in-Furness expanded rapidly, stimulated by the expansion of the iron industry and the port and docks. The civil engineer and civic leader Sir James Ramsden (1822–1896) was pre-eminent among those responsible for the growth of Barrow and he advocated the building of new housing to support the expanding population, and drew up a detailed plan for new streets. By the 1860s he had inspired the creation of the town's early schools, churches, library and other institutions and he served as Barrow's Mayor between 1867 and 1872. This terrace of workers' housing was constructed in c1865 and represents the last phase of housing envisaged in Sir James Ramsden's 1856 plan for development to the south-west of Duke Street.

Details

Terrace of workers' housing. c1865, altered C20.

MATERIALS: red brick with some ashlar dressings; graduated slate and composition tile roofs.

PLAN: rectangular terrace of 26 houses forming the south side of Keith Street.

EXTERIOR: each house has three storeys with a single window to each floor and a doorway to the right. They have a chamfered plinth and an impost string course; all doors are later replacements with plain overlights beneath segmentally-arched lintels with hoodmoulds. There are projecting sills and ashlar springers to segmental brick arches with keystones. The first floors have a sill band and cambered brick arches (some replaced by lintels). The second floors have a sill band and wooden lintels within corbelled eaves. There are party-wall ridge stacks and an end stack to No. 51. Nos. 1, 7 and 37 have been re-fronted with the loss of some original features but they respect the rhythm of the terrace in terms of detailing and window size. No. 7 retains an early front door, its plinth, corbelled eaves, and sill bands as does No. 37 with the addition of its impost band. The hoodmould on No. 9 appears to have been removed/made flush with the brickwork.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Enhancement on 28 February 2024 to update the description and to reformat the text to current standards

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

388489

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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