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| The arch above the doorway to No. 40 Station Road |
My introduction to Batley, with the wonderful architectural sculpture at No. 51 Station Road, was completely unexpected and, as with the very many textile warehouses that I had seen on Bond Street and Wellington Road in Dewsbury, the blue plaque attached to this states that it was designed to impress visitors arriving on the train.
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| The blue plaque on No. 51 Station Road |
Attached to No. 51 are the remains of another warehouse and office (c.1870), which Historic England (HE) describe as being in the Italian Gothic style and was recently used as the Xclusive nightclub, but which seemed to be unoccupied at the time of my visit.
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| The former Xclusive nightclub (L) |
I only took a photo of the rock faced walling at basement level, which looks to be another example of the fine grained Thornhill Rock that has differentially weathered to reveal both plane and cross-bedding. The same sandstone has been used for the ashlar masonry above, but I was more interested in the red sandstone that is used for the alternate voussoirs in the blind arches.
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| Rock faced walling at the former Xclusive nightclub |
I could not get near enough to have a close look at this red stone, but I normally associate this with Red Mansfield stone, a dolomitic sandstone that is a variety of the Upper Permian Cadeby Formation and is thought to have been formed as a sandbank at the mouth of a river.
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| No. 40 Station Road |
On the opposite side of the road, this red sandstone is also seen in the voussoirs of Nos. 32 to 40 Station Road (c.1870) - another set of warehouses that are designed in the same Italian Gothic architectural style as the Xclusive nightclub – but following a fire only Nos. 32 and 40 remain.
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| No. 32 Station Road |
HE make no mention of the architects that designed any of these buildings, and Kirklees Council have no records, but it is very possible that they were the work of Michael Sheard and Walter Hanstock, whose practice was responsible for several mills and commercial premises in Batley. Vivien Tomlinson's Family History does make a reference to a warehouse for Abraham Brooke (c.1873), although the specific building is not mentioned.
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| A carving of a squirrel on No. 32 Station Road |
Unlike the Xclusive nightclub, the ground floor window arches are decorated by finely carved floral details and animals, with the pilasters on No. 32 being decorated with a squirrel and flowers, which still retain their very sharp details.
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| Intricately carved flowers on No. 32 Station Road |
Continuing down Station Road, Nos. 24 and 26 (c.1870) are again described by HE as warehouses in the Italian Gothic style, with the design of the first floor windows being identical to the buildings mentioned above.
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| Nos. 24 and 26 Station Road |
The architectural details of the ground floor and second floor, however, are more typical of the Neoclassical style, with square headed windows and string courses, central engaged columns to the second floor windows and richly foliate capitals to the ground floor pilasters.
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| A capital on Nos. 24 and 26 Station Road |
