Bearland House is a grade II* listed building in Longsmith Street, Gloucester, England.[1][2]

Bearland House

The house was built in the 1740s and has been used for different purposes since then. Initially it was a private house. In the early 20th century it was a school and then a telephone exchange. Since then it has been offices and used for manufacturing. The west wing was demolished in 1912.

History

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The house was built in the 1740s by local lawyer Willian Jones.[3] This involved the rebuilding or remodelling of a previous building on the same site.[2] In 1764 it was bought by the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire.[4]

From 1904 to 1909 the building was used by the High School for Girls (now Denmark Road High School).[3][5] A fire station was built on the site of the west wing in 1912.[5][6] Later it was used by the General Post Office in Gloucester as a telephone exchange.[3]

In 1980 the architects Preece Payne Partnership converted the building into use as offices.[2] In 2010 Emma Willis established a clothing manufacturing centre in Bearland House,[7] which was visited by Prince Charles in February 2020.[8]

Architecture

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The three-storey building has an ornamental facade with wrought iron gates and railings in front of the house.[9][6] The front of the building is symmetrical with seven-bays with a porch with Roman Ionic columns and a Pulvinated frieze over the door in the central bay.[2] At the top of the front, above the three central bays, is a balustrade parapet with turned balusters.[2] The two-storey wing has a three-bay front.[2] The interior includes a wide central hall with dado panelling and a staircase with balusters.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Heritage Open Days: Bearland House - Exhibition in Gloucester, Gloucester". City of Gloucester. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Bearland House and attached railings and gates to forecourt". National Heritage List for England. Historic England. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Sillence, Rebecca (2015). Gloucester History Tour. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445648590.
  4. ^ "Bearland House". Gloucester History Festival. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  5. ^ a b Smith, Roger (2019). A-Z of Gloucester: Places-People-History. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445692005.
  6. ^ a b "The Barbican Conservation Area (Conservation Area No. 6)" (PDF). Gloucester Cuty Council. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Modern day tailor of Gloucester, Emma Willis puts Gloucester on the map". Growing Gloucestershire. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  8. ^ Mercer, Jessica (17 February 2020). "Updates as they happened as Prince Charles visits Gloucester". Gloucestershire Live. Archived from the original on 16 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Bearland House – Heritage Open Days Event". Gloucester Civic Trust. Retrieved 28 March 2020.

51°51′56″N 2°14′57″W / 51.86547°N 2.24929°W / 51.86547; -2.24929