Former Waterproof Clothing Factory

Details

TA2709SW
699-1/22/56

GRIMSBY,
ROBINSON STREET EAST (East side),
Former Waterproof Clothing Factory

(Formerly Listed as:
ROBINSON STREET EAST (East side), Waterproof Clothing Factory)

31/10/74

GV II

Waterproof clothing factory, now partly used as warehouse.
1914-16 by William Wells of Grimsby for Cosalt Limited (The
Great Grimsby Coal, Salt and Tanning Company). Red brick in
English bond, with blue brick dressings and mosaic tile
decoration. Green slate roof to front, Welsh slate to rear.
Internal steel frame. Scottish Baronian style. Rectangular on
plan: 3-storey section fronting Robinson Street, with 2-storey
range to rear left, fronting onto Holme Street.
EXTERIOR: Robinson Street front has 1:4:1 bays with projecting
corner pavilions containing entrances and staircases. Central
section has stepped plinth and full-height arcade of
round-headed arches of 2 plain orders containing recessed
windows to each floor. End bays have deep hollow-chamfered
plinth. Left pavilion has round-headed doorway with double
board door and a fine mosaic tympanum in a deeply-splayed
reveal beneath a stepped brick arch of 4 orders, within a
recessed square-headed panel with bands of radiating brick and
tile framed by a moulded brick architrave. Single slit-lights
to each side. Similar smaller entrance to right pavilion, with
a double window of 2 square-headed lights to its left. The
tympana above the doors both have Art Nouveau-style patterns
in green, grey, white and gold mosaic. Left and right end bays
have 2 double windows to first floor and a shallower
tripartite window to second floor consisting of a central
double window flanked by single side lights. All these windows
have glazing bars and moulded chamfered blue brick sills
beneath soldier arches. Blue brick diaper-work between first
and second storeys.
Central bays have 3-light windows to each floor, those to
second floor round-arched, all with wooden ogee mullions and
transoms, glazing bars, chamfered brick sills. Ground-floor
windows partly boarded-up. Between windows at first-floor and
second-floor level are raised moulded brick string courses and
mosaic panels (boarded over at time of survey) with lettering
in green on cream mosaic: "GRIMSBY - WATERPROOF - CLOTHING -
FACTORY" and "HEAD - OFFICE - FISH - DOCKS". Corbelled brick
eaves with imitation machicolations. Tall brick-coped parapet
to central section with mosaic panel and lettering "THE GREAT
GRIMSBY COAL, SALT AND TANNING CO. LTD.", obscured by later
name-board.
Corner pavilions have coped parapets and steep gables with
blue brick diaper-work and single round-arched slit-lights.
Prominent downpipes with decorative rainwater-heads. Pitched
roofs, hipped to rear, with short lift-shaft pavilion.
Right return has diapered brickwork to second storey and coped
gable to corner pavilion. Left return has 2-light and 4-light
windows and diaper brickwork to corner pavilion. 3-storey,
3-bay section adjoining to left has 3 cross-windows to ground
floor, three 2-light windows to upper floors; coped parapet.
2-storey, 7-bay range to left has recessed full-height panels
to each bay with 3-light square-headed windows to ground floor
and recessed 3-light segmental-headed windows to first floor,
all with wooden ogee mullions and transoms and glazing bars.
Waggon entrance to right with deeply-splayed reveal; inserted
entrance to third bay. Dentilled brick cornice to recessed
panels, stepped eaves, low parapet, prominent downpipes. This
rear section has a 5-span north-light roof with glazed panels
and coped gables with oculus windows with glazing bars.
INTERIOR: main entrance-staircase hall in left pavilion has
internal porch with patterned tiled barrel vault, 2-fold
half-glazed inner door with lattice-style glazing bars beneath
radial fanlight. Good main staircase with brick arcaded
stairwell with round and segmental arches with impost bands,
geometric-patterned iron balustrades, moulded swept handrail.
Staircase windows and others windows in pavilions have
chamfered brick mullions in chamfered segmental-arched brick
reveals. Plaque in entrance hall records erection "during the
years (1914, 1915, 1916) of the Great War" and its opening on
29 February 1916, with a list of company directors. Main
stores and work-rooms have exposed steel framing.
HISTORY: the Cosalt Company, established in 1873, became one
of the largest concerns of its kind, with branches worldwide.
Its name referred to its main business of supplying coal to
fishing boats, salt for fish curing and the tanning of sails
and fishing nets. Other Cosalt buildings in Grimsby include
the former butchers shop in Fish Dock Road, and the Cordage
Works off Convamore Road (qv). William Wells also designed
Brighowgate House, Brighowgate (qv).
(The Buildings of England: Pevsner N, Harris J, and Antram N:
Lincolnshire: London: 1989-: 342; Grimsby - Action for
Conservation: Grimsby Borough Planning Department: List of
buildings of local architectural or historical interest:
Grimsby Borough Council: 1972-: NO.29).

Listing NGR: TA2734409447

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

479301

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Harris, J, Antram, N, The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire, (1989), 342

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.