2019

SP0388 : Soho Foundry, Foundry Row

taken 5 years ago, near to Handsworth, Birmingham, England

Soho Foundry, Foundry Row
Soho Foundry, Foundry Row
Built c.1801 for the Boulton and Watt company employees.

The end pair were more commodious and intended for senior employees. The nearest one was for a period the home of William Murdock Link .

Following the purchase of the Soho Foundry by W & T Avery, the cottages were converted to office use in the early 20th century. There were used to provide a variety of welfare facilities, the forerunners of modern HR. This was a pioneering development by Avery's ahead of government regulations requiring large firms to provide such facilities which were introduced during World War 1.

The row is Listed Grade II but currently unoccupied, with no obvious prospect of further use. At the far end can be seen the rear of the new office block built by Avery's in 1925, also Listed Grade II but also currently unoccupied. The row of cottages originally continued as far as the street, comprising 8 small cottages with a match pair of larger cottages at each end. There was also a second similar block continuing to the west, demolished in the late 19th century for factory expansion.

Taken on the occasion of a guided tour of the site, which the tour organiser informed us would probably be the last time such a tour would be possible.
Listed Buildings and Structures

Listed buildings and structures are officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. There are over half a million listed structures in the United Kingdom, covered by around 375,000 listings.
Listed status is more commonly associated with buildings or groups of buildings, however it can cover many other structures, including bridges, headstones, steps, ponds, monuments, walls, phone boxes, wrecks, parks, and heritage sites, and in more recent times a road crossing (Abbey Road) and graffiti art (Banksy 'Spy-booth') have been included.

In England and Wales there are three main listing designations;
Grade I (2.5%) - exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important.
Grade II* (5.5%) - particularly important buildings of more than special interest.
Grade II (92%) - nationally important and of special interest.

There are also locally listed structures (at the discretion of local authorities) using A, B and C designations.

In Scotland three classifications are also used but the criteria are different. There are around 47,500 Listed buildings.
Category A (8%)- generally equivalent to Grade I and II* in England and Wales
Category B (51%)- this appears generally to cover the ground of Grade II, recognising national importance.
Category C (41%)- buildings of local importance, probably with some overlap with English Grade II.

In Northern Ireland the criteria are similar to Scotland, but the classifications are:
Grade A (2.3%)
Grade B+ (4.7%)
Grade B (93%)

Read more at Wikipedia LinkExternal link


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Alan Murray-Rust and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Factory [14] · Street [14] · Cottages [6] Other Photos: · William Murdock's cottage, Soho Foundry ·
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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SP0388, 147 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Alan Murray-Rust   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Thursday, 5 September, 2019   (more nearby)
Submitted
Tuesday, 10 September, 2019
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 0361 8882 [10m precision]
WGS84: 52:29.8365N 1:56.8953W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 0359 8881
View Direction
East-northeast (about 67 degrees)
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Image Type (about): geograph 
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