The Anchorage, Birmingham

The Anchorage is a Grade II* listed building in Handsworth Wood, Birmingham, England.[1]

The Anchorage
The building in August 2013
Map
General information
TypeHouse
Architectural styleArts and Crafts
Address137, Handsworth Wood Road, Handsworth Wood
Town or cityBirmingham
CountryEngland
Coordinates52°31′07″N 1°55′47″W / 52.5185°N 1.92978°W / 52.5185; -1.92978
Completed1899 (1899)
DesignationsGrade II* listed
Interior with murals by Fred Davis. Photograph by H. Bedford Lemere, May 1901.

It was built in 1899, to Arts and Crafts-style designs by Joseph Crouch and Edmund Butler,[1] as a house for Alfred Constantine, a manufacturing jeweller.[1][2] At the time, the area was in Staffordshire. The building is made of brick, with stone dressing and applied timber framing. The roof is tiled, with an off-centre cupola.[1]

A fire in around 1977 burnt the main hall's minstrels' gallery and a set of murals, The Hunt and Feast, by Fred Davis.[1][3] Other interior fittings include metal work by a member of the Bromsgrove Guild, possibly Benjamin Creswick, and embroidery by Mary Newill, who also made stained glass for some of the windows.[1]

The building was granted protection from unauthorised alteration through Grade II* listed designation on 8 July 1982.[1]

One of its attached garages has been converted into a self contained dwelling under the direction of HDA Architecture.[4] From 1983 to 2019 the building was occupied by the Jesus Fellowship Church as one of its Community Houses.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Historic England. "The Anchorage (Grade II*) (1076319)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  2. ^ "1901 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription". 1901. Retrieved 29 October 2015 – via Findmypast.
  3. ^ Willsdon, Clare A. P. (2000). Mural Painting in Britain 1840-1940: Image and Meaning. Oxford University Press. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-19-817515-5.
  4. ^ "Repairs and adaptation:The Anchorage, Handsworth Wood, Birmingham". HDA Architecture. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  5. ^ "Jesus Fellowship Church, Birmingham". Jesus Fellowship Church. Retrieved 29 October 2015.