Eagle and Coat of Arms on De Vere House - Bradford, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 47.632 W 001° 44.819
30U E 582538 N 5961315
Above the door of this textile warehouse is a frieze of an eagle with swags of flowers and fruit surmounted from by the shield from the coat of arms of Bradford.
Waymark Code: WMGZGH
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/28/2013
Views: 3
Bradford had grown rapidly in the Industrial revolution with many textile mills especially those producing wool. This area of Bradford is known as Little Germany because it housed many warehouses belonging to immigrants mainly from Germany. They tended to trade in the better quality textiles and the buildings reflected this, most were also of high quality.
It is as a result of this high quality of buildings that compared to other parts of Bradford much of the architecture has remained intact.
This warehouse was built in 1871 and the carving and grand entrance hall was designed to impress customers.
These days the building is occupied by the Bradford Chamber of Commerce.
This engineering
web site has the following details about the building.
“A grand, Italianate textile warehouse built in Bradford at the peak of the development of the textile trade there. De Vere House stands on Burnett Street in the heart of Little Germany, an area of Bradford which developed rapidly from 1856-75 to meet the needs of the trade in worsted, mohair and silk.
De Vere House was designed by the architects of Saltaire Mill and, in keeping with the area, its ornate style and Corinthian columns refer to the world of the Florentine wool merchants of the Renaissance.
Goods would arrive into an internal yard before being dispatched to a dye-house; packing machinery was situated at ground-level and finished fabric usually inspected in a well-glazed attic room.
The grand doorway leads to an ornate entrance hall and staircase, for the purpose of impressing customers.
Architects: Lockwood & Mawson“