Reasons for Designation
* For the high quality of the tiled interior of the shop, particularly the panels of painted tiles designed to look like framed pictures.
* For the good, little altered survival of the shop front which also retains painted and decorative tile work, multi-paned windows and decorative ventilation grills.
* It contains the rare survival of a rail system suspended from the ceiling originally designed for displaying carcases for sale.
* The upper part of the building is not of special interest although the first floor windows with their surviving sash windows positively complement the shop below.
Details
680-1/0/10130 PRINCES AVENUE
11-FEB-08 63
Former Butcher's Shop
II
Former butcher's shop, late C19 or early C20. Brick with modern replacement roof covering.
PLAN
The shop front to SE (facing Princes Avenue) carries around the corner to the S to front onto Thoresby Street. Doors at either end of the shop front provide access to the shop. To the right of the Princes Avenue shop door there is a recessed doorway that provides access to the accommodation above.
EXTERIOR
The first floor has a canted bay window in timber (complete with sliding sashes) and a vertical sliding sash window to the right, both facing Princes Avenue. There are no first floor windows to Thoresby Street. The eaves are enclosed and have shaped timber brackets. The roof above is not of special interest and has 3 modern dormer windows, 2 overlooking Princes Avenue.
The shop front has a relatively simple moulded cornice which also extends over the doorway to the upstairs accommodation. This cornice is supported by moulded consoles supported by piers of green glazed bricks. Similar bricks form the stall risers that incorporate cream coloured tiled panels. The panel facing Princes Avenue incorporates the sign "FAMILY BUTCHERS", each letter being on a separate tile. This is flanked by pictures formed from painted tiles with a ram's head to the left and bull's head to the right. A third picture, of a pig's head, is central to the similar panel facing Thoresby Street. Each of the pictures is monochrome (dark green) and finely detailed, each being formed from 4 tiles forming a diamond. The shop windows above are both 4 over 4 fixed lights. At the top of the Princes Avenue window there is a honeycomb pattern ventilation grill that is now behind glass. At the top of the other window there is a shorter, more decorative ventilation grill. Both shop doors have panelled lower sections but are mainly glazed. The stained glass of the fanlight above the Princes Avenue door is a modern insertion. Similarly the stained glass door to the upstairs accommodation does not appear to be original, but the multicoloured decorative tile work to dado level within the reveal of the recessed doorway is considered to be part of the original scheme.
INTERIOR
The interior walls of the shop are completely tiled with an elaborate decorative scheme. At dado level there is a broad band of tile work in turquoise, brown and buff, incorporating moulded as well as flat tiles. Below this there are broad panels of embossed buff coloured tiles, the panels framed with white and mauve tiles. Above the dado the walls are covered with a diamond chequerboard of square cream and buff tiles. This is interrupted by framed paintings, the frames being moulded green tiles, the paintings being made up of painted tiles. These paintings are of a very high quality, being well detailed giving the appearance of traditional watercolours. The side wall to the Princes Avenue frontage has three such paintings: a countryside scene including cows painted on 5x5 tiles flanked by two smaller paintings on 2x2 tiles, a portrait of a bull to the left and of a ram to the right. The rear wall (thus the side wall to the Thoresby Street frontage) has two large 5x5 tile paintings, a river scene to the left and a corn harvest scene to the right. A sixth painting, a 2x2 tile portrait of a pig is to the side of the shop door onto Thoresby Street. Above, at cornice level, there are four bands of tiles including a band of decorative brown moulded tiles.
Suspended from the ceiling there is a curving metal rail that comes from the original cold store in the back of the shop, around the perimeter of the shop with a loop away from the rear wall (probably the original location of the cash desk) to return back to the cold store. This rail would have originally been for displaying carcasses.
The floor is finished with a chequerboard of red and buff floor tiles. The rest of the building was not inspected.
HISTORY
The 1888 Ordnance Survey map shows the area as open fields which were fully developed by the next edition of the map dated 1910. It is not known if the building was built as a butcher's shop or was converted into one at a later date, nor is it known when it ceased operation as a butcher's.
REASON FOR DESIGNATION DECISION
The former Butcher's Shop, 63 Princes Avenue, is designated at grade II for the following principal reasons:
* For the high quality of the tiled interior of the shop, particularly the panels of painted tiles designed to look like framed pictures.
* For the good, little altered survival of the shop front which also retains painted and decorative tile work, multi-paned windows and decorative ventilation grills above.
* It contains the rare survival of a rail system suspended from the ceiling originally designed for displaying carcasses for sale.
* The upper part of the building is not of special interest although the first floor windows with their surviving sash windows positively complement the shop below.
