The Former Addis Factory, Western Range

Details

HERTFORD

TL3312 WARE ROAD
817-1/18/238 (South side)
09/05/94 The former Addis Factory, western
range

GV II

Office range, formerly part of factory (workshops now
demolished). 1935 with late C20 alterations. By Douglas
Hamilton for the Addis Company. Red brick with profiled
concrete detailing, continuous steel framed glazing and a flat
concrete roof. Linear plan, running east-west, formerly with
workshop ranges to the south, and with entrance in return at
east end.
EXTERIOR: north elevation; 2 storeys, the upper floor carried
on a profiled and projecting concrete beam which extends the
full length of the building as a storey band. Main body of
office building to the west, with curved north-west corner.
Full-length expanse of steel framed glazing 6 rectangular
panes high to ground floor, 4-panes high to first floor, with
projecting continuous sills and heads, the upper floor glazing
with deep bands of brick walling above and below.
Towards east end, advanced 2-storey stair tower with curved
front, the lower floor substantially of brick with a shallow
clerestory band, the upper floor almost wholly glazed, with
lights 10-panes high extending around the entire upper wall
surface. Above and behind, set on the flat roof of the main
range, a shallow tower with a curved north face echoes the
profile of the stair tower.
To the east, the end entrance curves around the corner, a
double doorway set within a quadrant reveal below the curve of
the storey beam which forms a canopy for the entrance. Above,
a first-floor window, 4-panes high, follows the curve of the
frontage. The doorway has original glazed doors, door
furniture and 6-pane overlight set on a diagonally-tiled
threshold.
West end elevation with stepped brick staircase to first floor
doorway, and hooped metal ladder to roof level. Above the
doorway, a clock face made up of individually-mounted
numerals. Late C20 extension to rear replaces workshops, and
echoes modelling of main elevation.
INTERIOR: main office interiors now remodelled, but entrance
lobby, stair and first floor boardroom retain original
detailing. The staircase is supported by a concrete column,
which extends upwards and fans outwards as it rises to support
the roof. Original doors, door furniture, boardroom furniture


and interior glass wall blocks have been retained. An
increasingly rare example of a streamlined 'moderne' design of
the 1930s, as applied to industrial architecture.
(The Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Hertfordshire:
Harmondsworth: 1977-: 191; Green L: Hertford's Past in
pictures: Ware: 1993-: 102-5; Miller M (ed): Architecture in
Hertfordshire 1929-1979: Hertford: 1979-: PANEL 9;
Architectural Guide to Cambridge and East Anglia since 192O:
Cambridge: 1982-: 164).



Listing NGR: TL3324812776

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

461540

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Architectural Guide to Cambridge and East Anglia since 1920, (1982), 164
Pevsner, N, Cherry, B, The Buildings of England: Hertfordshire, (1977), 191
Green, L, Hertfords Past in Pictures, (1993), 102-105
Hertfordshire Association of Architects in Architecture in Hertfordshire 1929-1979, (1979)

End of official list entry

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