Former Wheatsheaf Works, the Co-op Boot and Shoe Factory and attached railings

Former Wheatsheaf Works, the Co-op Boot and Shoe Factory and attached railings, Knighton Fields Road

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1250214
Date first listed:: 15-Feb-1994
List Entry Name:: Former Wheatsheaf Works, the Co-op Boot and Shoe Factory and attached railings
Statutory Address:: Former Wheatsheaf Works, the Co-op Boot and Shoe Factory and attached railings, Knighton Fields Road

User submitted image — Uploaded by Historic England Archive This photo may not represent the current condition of the site
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions.

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

🏠 Buildings
🏰 Scheduled monuments
🌳 Parks and gardens
⚔️ Battlefields
⚓ Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Images of England Project

To view this image please use Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or Edge.

Archive image, may not represent current condition of site.

Date:: 2002-04-11
Reference:: IOE01/06812/16
Rights:: © Mr Andy Haigh. Source: Historic England Archive

Historic England Archive

Search over 1 million photographs and drawings from the 1850s to the present day using our images archive.

Find Photos

Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1250214
Date first listed:: 15-Feb-1994
List Entry Name:: Former Wheatsheaf Works, the Co-op Boot and Shoe Factory and attached railings
Statutory Address 1:: Former Wheatsheaf Works, the Co-op Boot and Shoe Factory and attached railings, Knighton Fields Road

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:: Former Wheatsheaf Works, the Co-op Boot and Shoe Factory and attached railings, Knighton Fields Road

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: City of Leicester (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:: SK 59287 01919

Details

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 20/11/2020

SK 50 SE 17/10032 LEICESTER KNIGHTON FIELDS ROAD (north side) Former Wheatsheaf Works, the Co-op Boot and Shoe Factory and attached railings

(formerly listed as Wheatsheaf Works, the Co-op Boot and Shoe Factory and attached railings)

II Boot and Shoe Factory. 1891, extended c1900. Built for the Co-operative Wholesale Society. Red brick with red brick dressings and slate roofs. Quadrangular plan with a later wing to the north-west. Neo-Jacobean style.

West front is divided into nine bays with 29 windows arranged 3:4:3:3:3:3:3:3:4. The bays are divided by pairs of giant brick pilasters and topped by a bold dentilated cornice and plain parapet. Each of the outer four window bays has four tall cross casements on the ground floor, and four smaller, similar windows above, topped with ornate brick gables with divided pediments, ball finials and two circular windows. Each of the three window inner bays has two large round headed windows, with moulded arches and imposts on the ground floor and above three cross casements with linked cills. The fourth of these bays contains the main entrance with large double panel doors and a moulded ashlar surround with pairs of decorative pilasters and a pediment. To the north the tower bay has similar fenestration to the inner bays with above a clock tower defined by pairs of giant pilasters, each face has three round headed windows and above a large clock in a moulded surround with eight keystones. Above a brick entablature, a deep parapet and a rectangular pyramidal roof. The later wing to the north eight bays, 26 windows arranged 4:3:3:3:3:3:3:4, with similar fenestration as the main facade. The south front thirteen bays, 41 windows arranged 4:3:3:3:3:3:3:3:3:3:3:3:4. The fenestration is the same as the west front with a basement, though the central bay has three tall cross casements on the ground floor and three smaller, similar windows above, and it is topped with a brick gable. The east front eight bays, 26 windows arranged 4:3:3:3:3:3:3:4, with fenestration identical to the west front, plus a basement and no tower. The north front 32 bays, 32 windows arranged 4:3:3:3:3:3:3:3:3:4, with fenestration very similar to the other facades, though the outer three window bays project as service towers.

Attached to the west front is a low wall with ornate iron railings and four sets of ornate iron gates with square brick piers and moulded caps. This building was the largest footwear factory in the world when it was completed.

Listing NGR: SK5928701919

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:: 432493
Legacy System:: LBS

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.