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Dyers' BuildingsConservation Area Character Summary

This conservation area summary of character identifies key characteristics of the area and particularplanning considerations.

In the City of London the present urban form and character has evolved through many centuries and is theproduct of numerous influences and interventions: the character and sense of place is hence unique to thatarea, contributing at the same time to the wider character of the City. It is inevitable that the present knowledgeand information is incomplete, and in the interests of brevity only the principal characteristics of the areaare identified here. A more comprehensive appreciation of history and character of the City of London andthe nature of conservation area character (with particular reference to the City) are addressed inConservation Areas in the City of London, A General Introduction to their Character.

Each conservation area character summary should be read in conjunction with the General Introduction toenable a potential appreciation of any matters of possible importance in relation to any building, site, streetor area. The role of such elements in the character and appearance of any area within the City of Londonwill vary, and will be appraised in the light of particular proposals for alteration, extension or development.It is prepared in the light of national legislation, policy and advice provided in particular by the Planning(Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and PPG 15 Planning and the Historic Environment1994, and planning policies for the City of London contained in the City of London UnitaryDevelopment Plan 1994.

© Corporation of London 1999

ISBN 0 85203 050 9

Dyers' Buildings

Location and Boundaries

Dyers' Buildings Conservation Area, to the west ofHolborn Circus, is one of the smallest of the City'sconservation areas. The boundary is defined byHolborn to the north, by the rear property boundarieson the east side of Furnival Street, and includes partof 7-13 Norwich Street, part of 86-90 Fetter Lane,78-81 Fetter Lane entirely and returns to Holbornalong the western boundary of 20-23 Holborn.The conservation area is in the Ward ofFarringdon Without.

Dyers' Buildings Conservation Area has a sharedboundary with Chancery Lane Conservation Areaat the north end of Furnival Street.

Designation

Dyers' Buildings Conservation Area was designatedin 1981.

Holborn

Holborn

Fetter Lane Barnard's Inn Entry, Holborn

Area Character

Dyers'Buildings 1959 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Dyers'Buildings 1959 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Historical Evolution and Key Features

Dyers' Buildings Conservation Area is a small area withits own distinct character and intimate atmosphere,which is in marked contrast to the busy thoroughfareof Holborn.

The conservation area can be divided into two parts.The western half is composed of Dyers' Buildings,built as one development in the late 19th century.This courtyard and its buildings have a pleasingintimate and secluded character and scale.Although the buildings are unassuming, the group as aset piece has a cohesive integrity and, consequently,considerable presence.

The eastern and southern part of the conservation area,Barnard's Inn is more complex and of much greaterhistoric significance. The focus of this is the grade II*listed hall of Barnard's Inn, originally dating from the15th century. The Hall was later occupied by theMercers' Company School and was known as Mercers'Hall, recently becoming Gresham College.

Little is known of the area around Holborn in theRoman period, except that Holborn formed the firstsection of the Roman road from Newgate to Silchesterand Gloucester C.50-55AD. This road was firstmentioned as Holeburne Streete in 1249. At that timeit was a major highway for the cartage of wools andhides, corn, cheese and wood to the City.

There is evidence that there was extensive Romangravel quarrying in the area of Dyers' Buildings andBarnard's Inn in the 1st and 2nd centuries. Like manyextra-mural areas, Barnard's Inn was also the site of aRoman cemetery in the 2nd to 4th centuries, whenRoman civic law decreed that burials were not allowedwithin the City's boundary.

Barnard's Inn 1881 / As C17 GUILDHALL LIBRARY Barnard's Inn 1800 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

This area of Holborn was one of the earliest of the citysuburbs, dating from the late 9th century, with manygardens, orchards and large houses. By 1128 theKnights Templar had settled in Holborn, on a site tothe northern end of what was to become ChanceryLane. In 1161 they sold this land to the Bishops ofLincoln and moved to the site of the New Temple,off Fleet Street. The Holborn area was subsequentlydeveloped as a location for large religious and secularout-of-town houses and Inns.

Barnard's Inn 1804 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

A further stimulation to development in the area camein 1234, when Henry III ordered schools of law in theCity to be closed. This led to the formation of the innsof chancery, the medieval and later Inns or colleges oflawyers, which grew up along the Strand and Holborn.

The site of Barnard's Inn, consisting of two largeseparate plots, including a sizable garden (220 ft longwest to east), was fronted by seven shops on FetterLane. Later known as "the greate garden of Barnard'sInn formerly called Whitooke's Meade", it was purchasedin 1331-2 by Thomas de Lincoln. Fetter Lane,originally Faytor or Faiter Lane and afterwardsFewterers Lane, may be derived from the Old Frenchfor lawyer, but was used by Chaucer to describe theimpostors and beggars who frequented the lane.

Barnard's Inn C1875 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

In 1422 the properties were bought by John Mackworth,Dean of Lincoln and chancellor to Henry V By 1435the Inn was leased to Lional Barnard who established itas a school of law, with himself as principal, togetherwith a treasurer, steward, ancients and juniors.The Inn survived for over 450 years until itsdissolution, providing legal education accredited byGrey's Inn, the higher Inn to which Barnard's Inn wasconnected. At this time it was known both asMackworth's Inn and Barnard's Inn. A hall is recordedon part of this site prior to 1450. It was rebuilt in 1510and is one of the few remaining buildings of pre-fireLondon. Ownership passed on Mackworth's death tothe Dean and Chapter of Lincoln Cathedral.

Barnard's Inn Hall c1875 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Dyers' Buildings

Dyers' Buildings takes the form of a court that leads offof the main street of Holborn. The first incarnation ofDyers' Buildings dates from the mid 16th century,when, in 1551, almshouses were built by the Dyers'Company under the benefaction of a Mr. Henry West,who provided for them in his will. Known originally asWhite's Alley, the court was connected into thenetwork of passages and alleyways that characterisedmuch of 16th and 17th century London, and which canstill be seen in other areas of the City today.The complex of buildings and the alleyway were tobecome known as Dyers' Buildings from the 17thcentury, after the City Livery Company that retainedownership of the property until 1966.

The present fabric of Dyers' Buildings was constructedas one development by a John Wimble from 1871 to1878. The development enclosed the alleyway tothe south to form a secluded enclave off Holborn.The premises were built originally as workshops andoffices for the artisans and service industries needed tosupport the increasingly commercial functions of theVictorian City. Today they provide small office chambers.

Barnard's Inn, for most of it's history, was to retain itsbasic layout, with the hall in the middle of the depth ofthe tenement, dividing the front courtyard from thegarden behind. Small scale building works andadaptation of its associated chambers were continuous,although these changes were not out of keeping with itsbasic scale and character. The company of Barnard'sInn, unlike the other legal Inns, failed to purchasetheir site and property from the owners, and had topay an increasing levy at the end of each 40 year lease.The restriction on expansion and the increasing costappears to have contributed to the demise of Barnard'sInn as a legal establishment in 1888.

Barnard's Inn 1879 GUILDHALL LIBRARY Barnard's Inn

The Inn fell into a state of disrepair and was acquiredby the Mercers' Company. By 1892 the Mercers'School had out grown it's premises in College Hill and,limited in the availability of large enough sites, decidedto move to Barnard's Inn. The land and buildings,consisting of the hall, a library, a porters lodge, thekitchen, seven houses in use as legal chambers, 4 shopsfronting Holborn and 3 to Fetter Lane, were purchasedby the Mercers' Company in 1893, for a sum of£43,000. The committee of the Mercers' Companyrecommended the removal of several of the brick builtchambers, including the buildings fronting ontoHolborn, to make way for a new school buildingdesigned by Mr T Chatneld Clarke for the educationalneeds of 300 boys. The school playground consisted ofthe old quadrangle and courtyard of Barnard's Inn,previously the garden of Whitooke's Meade.

Barnard's Inn Hall 1892 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

In 1898 agreement was reached with the owners of theadjacent distillery, then operated by James Buchanan,whereby the playground space was enlarged on 2 sidesat the expense of an increase in height of the newdistillery buildings. The school itself was extendedmarginally in the 1930's at which time the 16thCentury hall, in use as the dining room but in a poorstate of repair, was substantially renovated.

GUILDHALL LIBRARY Barnard's Inn Entrance, Fetter Lane 1959Barnard's Inn, Holborn 1879 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Ogilby and Morgan 1676-79 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Undertaken when the reconstruction of the City was well underway, the Plan is the "first large multistreet plan of a British town to be delineated" andis considered to be relatively accurate; plans before this had been aerial pictorial views. The hall was already more than 200 years old when this mapwas completed, the form of the Hall and surrounding courtyards of Barnard's Inn are clearly defined and recognisable. The almshouses provided bythe Dyers' company on what was Whites Alley, may well have been known as Dyers' Buildings by the time this map was made.

Richard Norwood 1792-99 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Made 100 years after the Ogilby and Morgan survey, this map is less informative regarding areas behind street frontages. The consistent form ofBarnard's Inn is apparent, although there appears to have been some rebuilding of surrounding chambers, including the addition of one large buildingin the middle of the Inn. Dyers' Buildings is now clearly labelled, and the form of the alley and surrounding buildings is clearly defined, as are the shopsfronting Holborn and Fetter Lane.

Ordnance Survey 1873 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

The present No. 1 Dyers' Buildings of 1840 is shown on this map, but as the redevelopment of the rest is dated to 1871 to 78 it seems more thanprobable that the plan indicates an earlier incarnation of the rest of Dyers' Buildings. The connection shown to the alleys and courts to the south wouldseem to support this interpretation. Barnard's Inn remains very much as the earlier plans, although now the chambers clustering around the courtyardare more apparent, as is the scale of the distillery to its East.

GUILDHALL LIBRARY

On this map Dyers' Buildings is shown in its current form, the almshouses having been replaced by commercial buildings. Barnard's Inn is now clearlyshown as the location for the Mercers' school, the main courtyard now being used as a school playground. The distillery shown on this plan is theTreadwell and Martin building for Buchanan's. The site amalgamation on Holborn, Fetter Lane and Norwich Street is apparent, but the spaces at Dyers'Buildings and Barnard's Inn have survived this increase in scale and retain much of their original form.

Ordnance Survey 1914

White Horse Tavern, Fetter Lane c1830 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Anderson & Co. Distillery, Hoiborn c1880 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Buchanan's Distillary, Hoiborn 1953 GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Despite surviving the second world war intact, thesubsequent reorganisation of the education system andthe need for greater provision, meant that the schoolwas unable to expand sufficiently to meet the requiredstandards and finally closed in 1959. The old schoolbuildings were then let and subdivided as officeaccommodation and restaurant facilities, with vehicularaccess from Norwich Street providing parking space inthe playground. The 3 large plain trees whichoccupied the courtyard of the Inn, and later the Schoolplayground, were removed.

This part of Hoiborn was well known from the 17thcentury to the mid 20th century for its distilleries, infact the Inn and the surrounding developments werelucky to survive the burning of Langdale's Distillery in1780 by the Gordon rioters. The distillery stood onthe site of the Black Swan hostelry and coaching house,dating back to James I, on the corner of Hoiborn andFetter Lane, and was attacked by a mob who wereprotesting at the relaxation of rules on Catholics inpublic life. In the conflagration several of the Inn'schambers were destroyed, it was considered fortuitousthat the whole Inn did not disappear in the violentblaze, which was fed by the liquor from the distillersvats. The name Black Swan remained unchanged,despite extensive redevelopment and changes ofownership, the last distillery on the site was owned byJames Buchanan for the manufacture of whisky andoperated from the late 1890's to 1954.

Another hostelry, the White Horse Public House atNo.90 Fetter Lane, adjoined Barnard's Inn on thesouth side across White Horse Yard, standing on thecorner of Fetter Lane and Norwich Court, laterNorwich Street, from the 17th century. The WhiteHorse was a substantial coaching inn, from whichcoaches set out for Oxford and the West Country.The White Horse P.H. took several built forms overthe years, the last Victorian building having beendemolished as part of the 1992 Barnard's Courtredevelopment, which substantially redevelopedBarnard's Inn and the surrounding buildings,including the Distillery and the School buildings,as an office complex.

Dyers' Buildings opens onto Hoiborn and isapproached through a narrow opening between 18 and19 Hoiborn. Prestige House, a substantial 1920'sbuilding faced in Portland stone in a stripped classicalstyle, stands to the west of the entry to Dyers'Buildings, to the east is the domestically scaled SterlingHouse at 19 Hoiborn, a commercial building of 1880in brick with painted stucco and stone dressings.Dyers' Buildings is entered through a cast iron arch

10

and gateway, set back from the street and decoratedwith the arms of the Dyers' Livery Company.

Dyers' Buildings itself consists of a long thin formalcourtyard with six separate buildings, three on eachside. Five buildings, all constructed to the same design,so intimately placed along two sides of a court, producean introspective and cohesive character, which lendsitself to their current use as mostly legal chambers.These four storey buildings are of yellow and red stockbrick construction and are quite domestic in scale andappearance. The facades are treated with the samerestrained decorative theme with some ornateterracotta guilloche banding. Large bay windows area feature of the ground floor elevation. In the north-west corner, the older No.l from 1840, now in officeuse, breaks the sequence. This is a five-bay, threestorey house, with a stuccoed ground floor and apilastered doorcase with lions' heads.

The view northwards from the courtyard is closed bythe central tower of the Prudential building, therelationship producing a pleasing reciprocal view.The view to the south is dominated by the rearelevation of 3-5 Norwich Street, which dominates thescale of the courtyard.

Holborn

Prudential Building Dyers' Buildings

11

Barnard's Inn Barnard's Ini

Barnard's Inn is entered from either Holborn or FetterLane and is a series of small, intimate and discreteinformal courtyards, which are a legacy of the Inn'slegal and educational past. The 16th century hall isonly 3 7ft long and constructed from ragstone withtimber framing, refaced with stock brick. The roof istimber covered with tiles, topped with its remarkableoriginal octagonal lantern or louvre, with trefoil headedopenings and ogee top. The stained glass is 17thcentury and the interior wood panelling is 16thcentury. The hall has little 18th century and 19thcentury buildings clustered around it. The single storywing, now used as offices of Gresham College, is a lateraddition of 1805. The hall is a scheduled ancientmonument and is the oldest surviving domesticbuilding in the City.

The Inn is even more secluded than Dyer's Buildingsand has an enclosed and quiet atmosphere, that speaksdirectly of its collegiate history. The "greate garden ofBarnard's Inn ..", later the courtyards and quadrangle ofthe Inn, and finally the playground of the school,survives in vestigial form, still creating part of thesetting of the hall. This secluded Inn was alwaysentered from Fetter Lane and Holborn, apart from ashort period in this century when access was fromNorwich Street. When Barnard's Court was finishedin 1992 by the Mercers' Company, access wasreinstated from Fetter Lane, through a new gateway.

The redevelopment and enlargement behind theretained facade of T Chatfield Clarke's 1907 HaltonHouse, at 20-23 Holborn, provided the opportunity torespect and enhance the access to Barnard's Inn fromHolborn through a new white & green glazed brickpassageway. The building itself makes a notablecontribution to the character of the conservation area,

Barnard's Inn Barnard's Inn Entry, Holborn

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and, in its informal grouping with the open spaces andwith medieval hall, maintains an historic relationship.Though obviously a more substantial building,it provides a dramatic introduction to the hall fromthe north.

The redevelopment to create Barnard's Court requiredthe demolition of several 19th century buildings on thecorner of Norwich Street and Fetter Lane, includingthe White Horse P.H. and the redevelopment of therear section of the other listed building in theconservation area at 78-81 Fetter Lane. Dated 1902,this impressive stone fronted building by Threadwelland Martin, is an outlying survivor of the Buchanan'sDistillery, the main body of which lay to the north;the facade is in modified flemish gothic style withcarved decoration, incorporating 2 crouching figuressupporting a shell pediment on the gable end.The building plays an important role in the townscapeof the area. The flamboyant roof profile of 78-81Fetter Lane is respected by the series of varying roofforms of the Barnard Court development in a mannerwhich recognises and enhances the character of theimmediate area.

Barnard's Court uses a sympathetic palate ofpolychromatic materials and incorporates some of themore decorative artifacts from the original schoolbuilding. Care has also been taken over the quality ofthe paving in the courtyards, which re-uses andmatches much of the original York stone. The hall isnow somewhat overpowered by the surroundingdevelopment, although the historic courts and alleysare maintained. The archway between the northernand southern courts however is particularly effectivein mediating between the differing scales.Certain decorative brick and stone features were alsosalvaged from the school buildings and effectivelyre-used in the new elevations within the courtyard area,where the original Chatfield Clarke school building,Jacobean in red brick and Ancaster stone, is looselyreinterpreted using original and replicated features inpart of the elevation facing the Hall. This recognisesthe historic importance of the school buildings and thehall which represent successive phases in the role ofBarnard's Inn in the City's educational heritage.

The two privately owned spaces that make up theDyers' Buildings Conservation Area, Dyers' Buildingsand Barnard's Inn, have their own distinct character,but share an intimate atmosphere, which is in markedcontrast to the busy thoroughfare of Holborn. As quietintrospective areas, set apart from the bustle of much ofthe City, they still maintain today a quality that hasdefined these areas since their inception.

78-81 Fetter Lane Fetter Lane

Barnard's Inn Barnard's Inn

13

Holborn

Listed Buildings and Scheduled Monuments

Barnard's Inn

• 78-81 Fetter Lane:• Barnard's Inn:• Barnard's Inn Hall is also a

Scheduled Ancient Monument:

Additional Considerations

Grade IIGrade I

SAM 18

Most of the Dyers' Buildings Conservation Areafalls within the strategic view from Primrose Hilland within the background of strategic views fromGreenwich and Blackheath.

Dyers' Buildings Conservation Area contributes tothe setting of the Chancery Lane Conservation Area.

Dyers' Buildings Conservation Area forms part ofthe setting of the Prudential Headquarters Buildingand Staple Inn.

Barnard's Inn Fetter Lane Passage to Barnard's Inn

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78-81 Fetter Lane Barnard's Inn Barnard's Inn

Barnard's Inn Barnard's Inn Barnard's Inn

Barnard's Inn Dyers' Buildings Barnard's inn

arnard's Inn Dyers' Buildings Barnard's Inn

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AcknowledgementsThe Urban Design and Conservation Section of the Department of Planning wouldlike to express its gratitude for the advice and /or assistance provided by the followingorganisations and individuals in the preparation of this series:

The Guildhall Library - Lynne MacNab, Jeremy Smith, John Fisher, Ralph Hyde.The Worshipful Company of Dyers - J.R. Chambers, Clerk.

Illustrations identified below are reproduced with the kind permission of the following:The Guildhall Library: pages 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10.

Several of the maps in this series on Conservation Area Character are based uponOrdnance Survey maps for the City of London with the sanction of the Controller ofHer Majesty's Stationery Office. Crown Copyright Reserved.

All other illustrations were taken by the Urban Design and Conservation Section,Department of Planning, Corporation of London.

ReferencesThe brief quote in the reference to the Ogilby and Morgan plan is taken from theintroduction to this series of maps by Ralph Hyde, Guildhall Library. Readers are alsoreferred to the sources mentioned in the General Introduction to this series on theCharacter of the City's Conservation Areas, and to Bradley & Pevsner, "The Buildingsof England, LONDON 1: The City of London", 1997, Penguin, London.

This series on the Conservation Areas in the City of London, is written and designedby the Urban Design and Conservation Section, Department of Planning, Corporationof London.

© The Corporation of London 1999.

Design by Balchin Design; printing by Ingersoll Printers Ltd; in association with theDepartment of Printing and Stationery.

Further Information and assistance:Department of PlanningCorporation of LondonP.O. Box 270, GuildhallLondon EC2P 2EJTel: 0171-332 1716

Produced under the direction of:Peter Wynne Rees B.Sc, BArch, BTP, RIBA, FRTPI, FRSA.City Planning OfficerCorporation of LondonP.O. Box 270, GuildhallLondon EC2P 2EJ

Price - £2.50 inc.

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The Corporation of London is the local authority for the financial and commercial heart ofBritain, the City of London. It is committed to maintaining and enhancing the status of theBusiness City as one of the world's three leading financial centres through the policies it pursuesand the high standard of services it provides. Its responsibilities extend far beyond the Cityboundaries and it provides a host of additional facilities for the benefit of the nation.These range from the Central Criminal Court, The Old Bailey, to the famous Barbican ArtsCentre and open spaces such as Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath.

Among local authorities the Corporation of London is unique; not only is it the oldest in thecountry, combining its ancient traditions and ceremonial functions with the role of a modernand efficient authority, but it operates on a non-party political basis through its Lord Mayor,Aldermen and Members of the Court of Common Council.

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