An Exploration of Halifax - Part 4

 

A detail of the former Halifax Police Station

Having left the town centre, where I had seen some very fine buildings that were built in the second half of the century - particularly Halifax Town Hall and others on Crossley Street - I continued my exploration of Halifax at Harrison Road, where several Grade II listed buildings formed part of my British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge. 

 

Buildings on my British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge

 

The first of these was Nos. 1 and 3 Harrison Road, a pair of very plain early/mid C19 houses that are listed for their group value only and which Historic England (HE) describe as being part of an interesting group of buildings on Harrison Road. 

 

Nos. 1 and 3 Harrison Road

 

Yellowish brown thinly coursed sandstone with well defined plane bedding, presumably from the Elland Flags, is used for the walling and window and door surrounds. The same sandstone is used as ashlar in Nos. 5 and 7, No. 2, Nos. 6 and 8 and Nos. 11 and 11A, which are similar in size and designed in the Classical style – with features that include porticos with Ionic or Corinthian columns, carved corbel brackets, pedimented windows and prominent cornices. 

 

Nos. 5 and 7, No. 2, Nos. 6 and 8 and Nos. 11 and 11a Harrison Road

Unfortunately, HE provides no historical information about any of these houses, which are now all used as offices. They were presumably built for the professionals and businessmen who were able to pay for houses of a better quality, which were located in a relatively green area set away from the textile mills and their surrounding terraced houses. 

 

The 1854 Ordnance Survey map showing the area around Harrison Road

On the north-west corner of Harrison Road and Carlton Street is the early C19 Harrison House Branch Library, which is built with thinly bedded sandstone Elland Flags sandstone for the walling, with four large slabs used for each of the giant simplified Doric pilasters. 

 

The former Harrison House Branch Library

 

The south-west corner of this junction is occupied by the early Renaissance Revival style former Halifax Police Station and Court House (1889), which was not on my list of buildings to photograph but I think is another example of the Elland Flags - although I didn't examine the stone closely. 

 

The former Halifax Police Station and Crown Court

 

The Carlton United Reformed Church (1837), with its very simple classical design and an ornate pediment inscribed with Harrison Road Chapel and the date, is described by HE as being built in stone "brick" with ashlar dressings. 

 

The Carlton United Reformed Church

 

The gate piers and railings are separately Grade II listed and I thought that massive blocks of coarse grained Rough Rock would probably have been used for these, but when enlarging my photograph I think this is a further use of massive finer grained Elland Flags sandstone. 

 

The gateposts to the Carlton United Reformed Church

Next to the chapel, on Carlton Terrace, is the former Harrison Road Schools (1872), which has its name and date in raised lettering on a plaque that is attached to the gable end. It is listed for group value and the HE description states that "its classical style compliments that of the adjacent church and it compares favourably with other, listed Sunday schools". 

 

The former Harrison Road Schools

 

Returning to Harrison Road, the pair of houses comprising Nos. 13 and 15 were the next on my list to photograph. Although one of these was scaffolded at the time, the Classical door surrounds with pilasters and the sandstone ashlar, which varies in course height between the ground and upper floors, were clearly visble. 

Nos. 13 and 15 Harrison Road

 

Continuing west along Carlton Street, Nos 4 and 6 are another pair of 3-storey houses designed in a Classical style that provide further examples of porticos with Corinthian capitals to the columns and an entablature above. 

 

Nos. 4 and 6 Carlton Street

 

A little further along Carlton Street is Basement House (No. 10), another early to mid C19 building that HE describes as "Early/mid C19. Distinguished Greek revival facade. Stone now painted. 3 bays with order of Doric pilasters. Pedimented blocking each side and raised centre with wreath flanked by consoles. Subsidiary order of pilasters to glazing, now altered but retaining tripartite central entrance with light over".

 

No. 10 Carlton Street

Its architecture style and its finish, which is render and not painted stone, stands out against the surrounding stone buildings, which continue as modest terraced houses along Carlton Street – including the pair of houses comprising Nos. 12 and 14 and the adjoining No. 16, which are part of the same listing and were built 1830-1840. 

 

Nos. 12 to 16 Carlton Street