Details
BRIGHTON
TQ3105SE RICHMOND TERRACE
577-1/28/758 (East side)
Brighton College of Technology &
attached walls, gates & railings
II
Technical college. 1895 and 1909, altered 1927 and 1935. Red
brick laid in English bond with dressings of terracotta, roof
of slate. The first stage of the building was the ornate,
almost central section of 3-window range, which extends deep
into the site; this was built as Brighton Municipal Technical
College in 1895-6 to the designs of Francis JC May, Borough
Surveyor and Engineer; the north wing was built in 1909 as
premises for training teachers, and was incorporated in the
Technical College in 1927; the south wing was added in 1935.
EXTERIOR: 3 and 5 storeys over basement, 14-window range.
Ground floor faced with banded terracotta; steps up to an
elliptical-arched entrance, the banding carried through as a
Gibbs surround. 4 flat-arched windows to either side with
segmental transoms and paired toplights, and the arms of the
city between the first and second windows on either side;
cornice and fascia, the fascia lettered 'MUNICIPAL TECHNICAL
COLLEGE'; the upper part of the central bay has a window to
each of 3 storeys enclosed under a single, round-arched
architrave, each window being tripartite with a pediment to
the central section, of different design on each floor; the
third-floor window altered; a pair of flat-arched windows to
the 4th floor; the whole central bay flanked by octagonal
piers with decorative cornice between second and third floors
and elaborate pinnacles at 4th floor; shaped and pedimented
gable, the tympanum of the pediment decorated with arabesques.
The flanking bays have 2 storeys of flat-arched triple windows
with toplights set in a slightly projecting panel of
terracotta which is crowned at cornice level by an open
pediment through which a bracketed antefixa is pushed.
The north wing has flat-arched windows with toplights to the
first and second floor, the central window to the first floor
having a terracotta architrave consisting of blocked pilasters
and open pediment between pinnacles; the south wing is similar
except for a round-arched carriage entrance to ground floor,
ground-floor windows with toplights, and no first floor
architraves. Bracketed cornice to all but central bay, with
parapet; corniced ridge- and side-stacks.
INTERIOR: the vestibule, staircase hall, and landings to the
first and second floors are decorated with glazed and
relief-moulded tiles, to dado, filling, frieze and cornice;
elliptical arches either side of hall and to east side of
landings formed of ornate pilasters and equally ornately
treated intrados and flanked by similar pilasters; on all
floors and on the staircase are didactic tiled frames
enclosing a round-arched panel displaying 4 varieties of
marble in each panel. The dogleg staircase is in 3 separate
flights from the basement to second floor, with elaborate
wrought-iron newel to basement, Neo-Jacobean wooden newel to
ground and first floors, scrolled wrought-iron balusters and
moulded rail; the staircase turns round 2 tiled columns of
composite form with adapted Corinthian capitals and a round,
linking arch at ground and first floor, ending in newel posts
at the second floor. There is one room on the second floor, at
the north end of the building, fitted out like the hall of a
board school with dadoes and arched trusses to the roof; it is
now divided into 2.
Elaborate brick walls to street and entrance with terracotta
coping; octagonal gate piers decorated with blocking and
ornate caps, the wall between swept up at intervals with small
decorative pediments; elaborate cast-iron and wrought-iron
gates to entrance, entrance gate piers and carriage entrance,
with railings flanking carriage entrance.
(Carder T: The Encyclopaedia of Brighton: Lewes: 1990-).
Listing NGR: TQ3160905015
