Former Norwich Union House
Princes House, North Street, Brighton, BN1 1EA
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1380623
- Date first listed:
- 04-Nov-1994
- List Entry Name:
- Former Norwich Union House
- Statutory Address:
- Princes House, North Street, Brighton, BN1 1EA
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1380623
- Date first listed:
- 04-Nov-1994
- List Entry Name:
- Former Norwich Union House
- Statutory Address 1:
- Princes House, North Street, Brighton, BN1 1EA
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
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.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
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.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- Princes House, North Street, Brighton, BN1 1EA
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- The City of Brighton and Hove (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ 31173 04185
Details
This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 20 August 2025 to update the Name and Address and reformat the text to current standards
TQ3104SW
577-1/40/605
BRIGHTON
NORTH STREET (North side)
Princes House
(Formerly listed as Nos.166-169 (Consecutive) Norwich Union House)
04/11/94
GV
II
Office headquarters. Built 1935-1936. By HS Goodhart-Rendel. Ground floor on North Street and return altered in mid to late C20. Structure fills west half of block, returning down Princes Place and having an elevation to the Pavilion Grounds to the north.
EXTERIOR: five storeys over basement. Five-window range with broad corner range and a return of 11-window range; rear elevation of six-window range. Steel frame sheathed in hand-made, sand-faced bricks arranged in soldier courses vertically and horizontally; at the intersection of joists and studs the sheathing laid in a star pattern; broad joints between sheathing bricks filled with blue mosaic tiles. Window infill spandrels filled with brick in header bond. Top storey is brick in Flemish bond with blue brick diapering. On rear blue-green stone sheathing to ground floor. Some lead flashing around top of tower, otherwise the roof is parapeted. All windows steel casements of original design. The main and return elevations are arranged to express the structure's orthogonal grid, each bay is near forming a cell of identical dimensions and design. The corner range is composed of four windows, narrower than the rest, which slope obliquely turning the corner; the corner casement windows are zig-zag in section; the whole arrangement suggests the pleated fold of a curtain. All the windows are flat arched with sloping sills. The frank expression of the frame is left aside for the top storey, which jetties out over those below by one brick's thickness and has a sheer surface broken only by the shallow projecting bays of broad top-floor windows which alternate with narrower windows flush with the front wall. Parapet to roof treated as bracketed eaves, which are interrupted at the corner by a short cylindrical tower, its zig-zag walls echoing the treatment of the corner windows below. The rear elevation is notable for retaining the original sheathing of the ground floor, a green stone revetment which angles back to header bond brick walls. The arrangement of the orthogonal grid is varied here, having very narrow corner and end bays; the first-floor window nearest the corner with a zig-zag plan, then, to the left, three tripartite windows set in a green stone surround.
INTERIOR: not inspected.
The Brighton and Sussex Permanent Benefit Building Society was founded in 1865; in 1945 the name changed to the Alliance and in 1985, the Alliance and Leicester.
(Carder T: The Encyclopaedia of Brighton: Lewes: 1990-: 112; Brighton Polytechnic: The Buildings of Brighton: Macclesfield: 1986-: 56).
Listing NGR: TQ3117304185
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 480946
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
School of Architecture, , Interior Design, Brighton Polytechnic, A Guide to the Buildings of Brighton, (1987), 56
Carder, T, Encyclopaedia of Brighton, (1990), 112
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 27-Jun-2026 at 12:26:27.
Download a full scale map (PDF)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.