A Victorian-era winery beneath a London Bridge railway arch, known for its stunning Baroque Revival frontage, has been carefully restored.
Findlater’s Corner, sitting at the southern end of the bridge and topped by a large clock and ceramic stag’s head, was established by historic wine merchants Findlater’s Mackie & Todd in 1865.
Thanks to a £3million project by The Arch Company and Railway Heritage Trust, the building could be open to the public as soon as March 2023. Its four units will be used for retail or leisure.
Craig McWilliam, The Arch Company CEO said: “Findlater’s Corner is our most prominent retrofit development to date, with four arches in the heart of London Bridge available for businesses to move into.
“Discovering the history of these arches – from uncovering the Jesse Rust “Express Dairy” glass mosaic, to learning about the significance of the iconic Findlater’s clock – has been a particularly special part of this project.”
Findlater’s Corner was established as railways into central London underwent a huge expansion in the mid-19th-century.
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Its original Victorian frontage was replaced in 1900 with a new Beaux-arts facade, made from a glazed terracotta known as ‘Carraraware’.
Peckham-based project architect Benedict O’Looney said: “This is a proper south-London story. The Carraraware was made upriver at Doulton’s ceramic factory along Lambeth’s Albert Embankment.
“It was the perfect material for smoky Edwardian London. Being glazed terracotta, also known as faience, it’s extremely robust and the rain would wash the London soot off.
“It cleans up easily and, because it’s made of vitrified terracotta, the detailing is like it was made yesterday.”
Because the Edwardian frontage was built over a Victorian predecessor, contractors had to restore a fusion of architectural styles.
Beside the turn-of-the-century facade are stucco walls that once held advertising boards perused by Victorian commuters. “We’ve made a big effort to ensure these two architectures co-exist,” said O’Looney.
The clock atop the structure has been broken for years, but that has also been repaired and given new glass and hands by clockmaker Gillet & Johnston.
And a ceramic stag head, symbolising the Findlater’s Scottish ancestry, had become pockmarked and lost an antler, but now also returns to its former glory.
Over the summer, contractors were astonished to discover a mosaic beneath the render walls, the work of celebrated mosaicist Jesse Rust.
It marked the entrance to an Express Dairy, a place that received fresh milk delivered from the countryside, considered superior to milk produced by London cows.
O’Looney, who believes the mosaic pieces, known as tesserae, may have come from Venice, said: “The mosaic might the last surviving Express Dairy signage in the UK… its florid art deco lettering has been cleaned… I’m hoping a full restoration happens in due course.”
Inside, there was also a Ladies’ Room, a rare haven for Victorian women conducting their business away from the prying eyes of husbands and fathers. Such places were vital headquarters for the early suffragettes.
Private-equity-backed Arch Company bought over 5,000 arches and other commercial spaces from Network Rail in 2019 for £1.5 billion.