Bath Press News
Latest
[15/6/08] We have been sent a graphical image of what the front view would look like cleaned up, to go with our long view we showed before. This demonstrates that the frontage is not Georgian but classical, and is worth preserving.
Previously
[10/5/08] We heard this week that the Bath Press building had been sold, and the sales agent Atisreal refused to tell us who had bought it, insisting that with the sale came a confidentiality agreement, because the buyers wanted to make their own announcement.
According to Property Week the buyer is Tesco. The suggestion in that news article that they will be looking for an architecturally sensitive scheme is encouraging, and we have graphically enhanced a photograph of the front of the building to show how good it could look if it were cleaned up and not boarded up.
Tesco did a lovely job of restoring the Hoover building in West London to turn it into a shop, and we hope that they will not rush in with the bulldozers on the Bath Press site, or opt for anything as insensitive as their design for Bathwick Hill. Watchdog will take an active part in any consultation process.
Original News
The CPI Bath Press closed its doors in Bath and Glasgow. In Bath this means the loss of over 200 jobs after over 100 years on this site.
This large building (formally the Pitman Press) stands on the site of Sir Isaac Pitman's fifth Phonetic Institute on the Lower Bristol Road.
It is of a style and date similar to Churchill House, i.e. an imposing Bath stone façade fronting an industrial building.
Early in September, the lower windows were boarded over, and the last of the equipment inside the building was sold off and moved out. There have been no rumours of what will happen next.
A application pack has been sent to English Heritage for the listing of this building. No it is not listed! Support and help was given on this by the Museum of Bath at Work. If you have information about the building, particularly about the interior, English Heritage would also like to hear from you - see What You Can Do below.
All of the 1930’s building is still intact and may incorporate the 1890’s Pitman Phonetic Institute In the 1930s drawing shown here, the small area with the different roof is believed to be the original building, incorporated into the later larger structure.
The Council seem to be supportive of its listing this time. (This building was nearly lost in 2001 due to company relocation. An application at that time for its listing was unsuccessful because it was not then supported by the Council).
Other News
The question of whether the Phonetic Institute can be seen as part of the structure is speculation. The owners of the building are refusing all requests, even a formal request from the Museum of Bath at Work, for entry to the site, though I understand that English Heritage have exercised their statutory right to enter and take photographs.
The Twentieth Century Society are interested in buildings built in the 20th Century which could be at risk.
The Victorian Society may also be interested, given its Victorian past and the possibility that remains of the original Phonetic Institute might still form part of the building.
What You Can Do
To support the listing of this building, by writing with factual information about the building to
English Heritage,
Heritage Protection Dept,
1 Waterhouse Square,
138-142 Holborn,
London, EC1N 2ST.
This building and many others in the area lie outside the council's defined conservation area (though inside the World Heritage boundary), but inside a boundary set by the Urban Regeneration Group as prime development land.
Write to Mr John Everitt, Chief Executive of the Council, to ask that the
building be locally listed.
The Twentieth Century Society are interested in buildings built in the 20th Century which could be at risk. They can be contacted at:
70 Cowcross Street,
London, EC1M 6EJ.
The Victorian Society may also be interested, given its Victorian past and the possibility that remains of the original Phonetic Institute might still form part of the building.
But above all you should watch out for any new planning application that might be raised, . Let us know (via the methods on the Contacts page) if that happens.