Building record 1160/61/1 - 76 Overstone Road & 1 Dunster Street (A. J. Tear & Co.; formerly J. Goulding & W. Collier)

Former curriers works, c.1878 for William Collier. Red brick with slate roof, hipped to corner, and with coped end gables. Stacks to the Dunster Street gable ends. 3 storeys with 2 storey extension to Dunster Street end. By the 1890s Goulding and Co were occupiers and by the early 20th century the building was a leather warehouse.

{1} Circa 1875 three storey brick building with timber curtain walling to top storey; cast iron window frames in first two storeys & wooden frames on top storey; curved brick relieving arches to cast iron windows; some replaced by casing with flat concrete slate roof; hoist loading & discharge door at first floor at north end of frontage; originally for furniture manufacture; building has irregular frontage on corner site; present occupier Messrs. A.J.Tear.

{2} No further details.

{5} Former curriers works, c.1878. Red brick with slate roof, hipped to corner, and with coped end gables. Stacks to the Dunster Street gable ends. 3 storeys with 2 storey extension to Dunster Street end. V plan. Iron framed windows to ground and first floors except wooden sashes to canted end and part of Overstone Road front. Very unusual wooden-framed combination of windows with glazing bars over louvred panels to top floor. Dunster Street front has a 10-window range to first floor, then 2 windows on the canted corner and 5 windows and far left taking-in door to Overstone Road. The top floor continuous combination windows are arranged 5:1:3 along the 3 fronts. Entrance doors to canted corner and to right of Dunster Street front. Extension to right of this front may be a purpose-built engine house (the 1899 Goad plan shows it containing a gas engine). Interior yard also has fully covered ventilation panels to top floor.
INTERIOR. Wide timber ceiling beams supporting joists. Queen strut roof trusses. The louvre opening mechanism survives in part.
House/offices. Rendered and colourwashed brick. Slate roof with coped gable. 2 storeys. 3-window range at first floor of C20 windows in original openings. Ground floor has 2 windows under fascia and cornice and door within doorcase with brackets and cornice. Carriage entrance to right.
HISTORY. William Collier is listed as a currier here in 1878/79 and the 1883-84 OS map shows all the ranges. In the 1890’s Goulding and Co. were occupying the premises and in the early C20 the building was a leather warehouse. It has been the present bedding and upholstery factory since the early 1950’s. The form of ventilation for the top floor is characteristic of leather storage and drying floors before the 1890’s but seldom survives.
This is a fine, unusual and very-little altered example of a curriers works with the added completeness of the attached owner/manager’s house. The ensemble forms part of the most significant group of boot and shoe industry buildings in Northampton.

{7} A three-storey leather warehouse built on the north side of Dunster Street. This triangular plan building is built of brick with a half hipped, slate-covered roof. Constructed c.1878 as a curriers works for William Collier but by the 1890s Goulding and Co were occupiers and by the early 20th century the building was a leather warehouse.

{9} Probably built for Frederick Fudger in 1877. The large wooden windows on the top floor would have originally contained wooden louvres to facilitate good ventilation for the leather finishing processes. Now converted to apartments.

Historic England, Undated, 1 Dunster Street, Northampton, BF103486 (Archive). SNN115568.

<1> Starmer G.H., 1967, CBA Record Cards: Industrial Archaeology in Northamptonshire, Recorded by DA Lewis, 21-Apr-1967, Record No.NN41 (Recording Form (Not SMR)). SNN565.

<2> Starmer G.H., 1973, National Register of Industrial Monuments, (checked) (Catalogue). SNN571.

<3> Starmer G.H., 1982, National Register of Industrial Monuments, (checked) (Catalogue). SNN563.

<4> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 2000, Northamptonshire Boot and Shoe Survey, (part checked) (Catalogue). SNN105075.

<5> DCMS, 2003, Listing Schedule, (checked) (Schedule). SNN105168.

<6> Dawson M., 2005, Building Recording and Evaluation Report: Former Curriers, 76 Overstone Road & 1 Dunster Street, Northampton, (unchecked) (Report). SNN105588.

<7> Historic England, Unknown, Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments (Oral Report). SNN111577.

<8> Historic England, Undated, National Record of Industrial Monuments (NRIM): Index Cards, NRI01 (Archive). SNN113469.

<9> Perkins, P, Whittaker, R and Denton, A, 2022, A Guide to the Industrial Heritage of Northamptonshire, p. 60/ Site 261 (Book). SNN113793.

Record last edited

Jan 23 2025 12:44PM