The House of Industry Gressenhall Norfolk

House of Industry 2014 The House of Industry Gressenhall Norfolk Fig. 1. Façade. Showing former well house and weather vane to the cupola. Inset - detail of doorway CONSERVATION PLAN 1 House of Industry 2014 4.1 Executive Plan An architecturally magnificent building of 1777 with a continuous written record of life in the workhouse from 1777 until 1948. 4.2 Preamble This report is written by Stephen Heywood MA, FSA, an architectural historian and Historic Buildings Officer for Norfolk County Council. The report relies on the hard work of Stephen Pope on the copious records of the workhouse held by the Norfolk Record Office (NRO) and on the lives of its guardians and inmates. His published booklet on the workhouse is full of original research and a valuable resource (Pope). Also consulted are the authoritative account by Kathryn Morrison entitled The Workhouse: A Study of Poor-Law Buildings in England (Morrison) and the Norfolk Historical Atlas (NHA 2005) with its two chapters on Norfolk Workhouses. This account concentrates on the buildings, which have not been looked at in detail before with architectural history as a prime concern. It is intended that the work will inform exhibition designers as well architects involved with repair and enhancement. Also it is hoped that the report will stimulate activities for visitors and volunteers centred on discovering the building. 4.3 Understanding the Heritage 4.3.1 Describe the Heritage 4.3.1.1 Introduction The House of Industry, as it was originally conceived, was built in order to accommodate the poor of the Hundreds of Mitford and Launditch. The hundreds are the ancient subdivision of the county into administrative areas comprising of several parishes. They still formed the basis of the Rural District Councils which finally disappeared only in 1974. The leaders of the combined hundreds of Mitford and Launditch in central Norfolk drew up a bill which was presented to parliament and granted in the summer of 1775. Building began in 1776 at the site chosen on the edge of the parish of Gressenhall and was opened in 1777 and there were inmates from that time although building work continued with the construction of the wings to the east. The cost of the new buildings and their maintenance was drawn from the Poor Rate – a tax on householders. 2 House of Industry 2014 dais Boardroom Present laundry building is a replacement of the original range. Link EAST ARM Hall WEST WING EAST WING ‘Cottages’ SOUTH EAST ARM Fig. 2. Plan of original layout © Stephen Pope. The work completed by 1777 was probably the H plan main block (figs 1 & 2). The long wings to the east, initially separate, followed (Fig. 2). A matching wing to the west was planned but not carried out. The existing laundry building is a replacement of an earlier range on the same site and dates to the second half of the 19th century. 4.3.1.2 The main block The main block was obviously conceived as the centre piece of the design and it has the classic symmetrical façade similar to a late 18th – century country house. In plan the cross wings are of full height to the east and half the length of the west wing is full height continued as a single storey building housing the kitchen (figs 2 & 3). This part of the building has been re-roofed with steel trusses and a slate covering. The marks of a former ridge ventilator can be seen. 3 House of Industry 2014 Fig. 3. Former kitchen from north west The façade is symmetrical, of 7 bays with the central three bays slightly advanced and carrying a pediment with a clock dial in the tympanum. The centrall bays have a secondary row of windows just above the ground floor openings to provide additional light to the central hall. The façade and its wings have a central plaiin three-course platband in the typical Georgian manner. A pair of doorways beneath semicircular fanlights occupies the end bays of the façade (fig. 1). They have plain brick imposts and keystones. The whole composition of each doorway stands proud slightly, protected by a moulded brick roll moulding above. The window opeenings have skewback arches with cambered soffits of rubbed brick voussoirs (Fig. 4) and a fine cornice of moulded brick with cyma recta modillions (figs. 5 and 6). This cornice was confined to the principal façades.. Fig. 4. Skewback arch with cambered soffit 4 House of Industry 2014 Fig. 5. Renewed moulded brick cornice to Fig. 6. Surviving original cornice on west wing pediment ..and reverts to a simple saw tooth cornice to the sides and rear. The main fabric is of soft red brick made on site. The bricks to the three principal facades are laid in Flemish bond whilst the gable ends and all external elevations are laid in English bond (figs. 7 & 8) Fig.7. English bond, west wing end Fig. 8. Flemish bond, east façade This hierarchy of detail tells us of what was considered to be the aesthetically superior bond, that the expensive eaves detail was reserved for the principal façades and that the windows having skewback arches with cambered soffits were reserved for the main block. Fig 9. Flemish below. English above 5 House of Industry 2014 However, there is an exception to this rule. The brick work of the east elevation of the east wing abruptly changes colour and quality (Fig.9). In The southern half of the elevation the brick and the bond change from English to Flemish. The bricks are harder and more neatly made and have thinner joints. They are 18th-century in date, having the characteristic occasional black header, but of higher quality and from a different kiln. The finer brick work extends from the former flue, including the window, to a level just above the window extended to meet the boardroom chimney and the remaining part complete up to the eaves (fig. 10) and half way across the gable-end to a buttress where the masonry reverts to the standard brick in English bond. At the point of junction it can be seen that the alignment of the two walls was not accurate resulting in a crooked eaves line. As the smarter brick work is below the standard brick, it follows that the neat brick was used during an interruption to the supply from the site kiln. What is perplexing is why the bonds needed to be different especially considering that Flemish bond is used with the standard brick for the façades. The roofs are shallow and hipped with a covering of pantiles. At the centre is a shallow lead-covered cupola, housing the bell, supported on an open octagonal arcade. There was, formerly, a weathervane (fig.1). Fig. 10. East wing, east elevation. Neat brick in Flemish bond below and to the right of the red line. 6 House of Industry 2014 Fig. 11. Standard window. Fig. 12. Boardroom window. The windows are all sashes with glazing bars except for the upper hall windows which are hinged. The sashes are divided six-over-six except for the three boardroom windows which are 12-over-12 (figs 11 & 12). There are two arched stair windows with plain brick imposts and keys (Fig. 10). The glazing bar sizes and mouldings vary owing to many replacement sashes of differing quality. However there appear to have been two standard glazing bar mouldings in the main block. Narrow deep sections with shallow ogee mouldings are found on the principal windows to façades and boardroom (Fig. 13) and thick moulded bars on some of the rear windows (Fig. 14). Fig.13. Boardroom window detail Fig 14. Detail of window in east wing to yard 7 House of Industry 2014 4.3.1.3 The interior of Main block The spaces are plain and have plastered walls and ceilings. The hall, serving as dining room and chapel, occupies the principal position bounded to east and west by a pair of large semicircular-headed arches (fig. 15). The stanchions and the steel joist are modern reinforcements of the floor. On the north side of the hall in the centre is a large segmental arch which originally opened into a separate space which probably served as a dais where the master and staff would sit at the high table (fig. 2). The space now serves simply as a way through to the now covered, north yard (Fig. 16). The rear wall was taken down in 1976 and a large reinforced concrete lintel was inserted. Fig. 15. Hall Fig.16. View of dais arch from the north. 8 House of Industry 2014 There are staircases to the east and west and both have arched stair windows (Fig. 10). The staircases are very simple and roughly made (fig. 17). The treaadds are covered with 20th century materials. Fig. 17. Staircase in west wing The higher status of the west wing is reflected in the curious use off a plaster baarrel vvault over the corridor which forms the hall to the master’s rooms. TThe vault is penetrated by the tall entrance to the hall and forms a groin vault marking the entrance bbay to the master’s quarters (fig.18). Fig. 18. The Master’s vault with entrance to the hall on left. 9 House of Industry 2014 The large room above the hall was subdivided into two and the stuud with brick partition which formed the division, was removed in 2000 (Fig. 19). Fig. 19. The former partition in the hall chamber The front room of the east wing of the main block has a fine timber moulded cornice (fig.

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