Elephant Tea Rooms
Encyclopedia
The Elephant Tea Rooms is a Grade II listed building in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
, England
. The building was constructed from 1873 to 1877 by Frank Caws
for Ronald Grimshaw, a local tea merchant, in a blend of the high Victorian Hindu Gothic and Venetian Gothic
styles. This was selling point, as the exotic style and name advertised the exotic origins of the tea sold there.
and was constructed from brick, terracotta and faience
. The ground floor has a full-width tiled fascia
continuing along to the neighbouring building; this 20th century alteration, may conceal earlier detail. The arcaded
first floor has sash window
s with sloping sill
s in the Gothic faience arcade, clasping rings and crocket capitals to the nookshafts, alternate block jambs, raised pointed arches and roll-moulded dripstring. The ogee
window heads have fleur-de-lys finial
s in front of lozenge
-patterned terracotta spandrel
s. The eaves
cornice
has a corbel
led trefoil
frieze
.
The attic windows have faience surrounds, similar to the first floor arcade, two trefoil-headed transom
lights over mullion
ed lights, each window is in a high gable with round-headed niche
s in a banded faience decoration and moulded coping
. Between the gables there are bracketed cornice
d shelves carrying faience elephants under bracketed gables with trefoil bargeboard
s with a crocket decoration and elaborate finials.
The round oriel
corner turret
has nookshafts like the other first floor arcades but with arcaded central lights and blind arches, below a band of linked, splay
ed shafts and large eaves gargoyle
s. Above are further gablets are at the foot of the banded round turret with bracketed, eaves and a Buddhist-style conical faience roof with a series of ringed ribs. Smaller high cones on patterned drums are behind the crow-stepped gable foot at the end of each front.
The steeply-pitched roof is of slate
, has ridges from each gable with terracotta crestings, faeience gable
copings
and tall, faience coping (behind the elephant gablets) and brick chimneys.
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The building was constructed from 1873 to 1877 by Frank Caws
Frank Caws
Francis Edward "Frank" Caws was a British architect.Caws was born at Seaview, Isle of Wight, the son of Silas Harvey Caws and his wife, Emma Matilda .. Caws later moved to and settled in Sunderland, via London...
for Ronald Grimshaw, a local tea merchant, in a blend of the high Victorian Hindu Gothic and Venetian Gothic
Venetian Gothic architecture
Venetian Gothic is a term given to an architectural style combining use of the Gothic lancet arch with Byzantine and Moorish architecture influences. The style originated in 14th century Venice with the confluence of Byzantine styles from Constantinople, Arab influences from Moorish Spain and early...
styles. This was selling point, as the exotic style and name advertised the exotic origins of the tea sold there.
Exterior
The exterior is polychromePolychrome
Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...
and was constructed from brick, terracotta and faience
Faience
Faience or faïence is the conventional name in English for fine tin-glazed pottery on a delicate pale buff earthenware body, originally associated with Faenza in northern Italy. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip...
. The ground floor has a full-width tiled fascia
Fascia (architecture)
Fascia is a term used in architecture to refer to a frieze or band running horizontally and situated vertically under the roof edge or which forms the outer surface of a cornice and is visible to an outside observer...
continuing along to the neighbouring building; this 20th century alteration, may conceal earlier detail. The arcaded
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
first floor has sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s with sloping sill
Sill plate
A sill plate or sole plate in construction and architecture is the bottom horizontal member of a wall or building to which vertical members are attached. Sill plates are usually composed of lumber. It usually comes in sizes of 2×4, 2×6, 2×8, and 2×10. In the platform framing method the sill plate...
s in the Gothic faience arcade, clasping rings and crocket capitals to the nookshafts, alternate block jambs, raised pointed arches and roll-moulded dripstring. The ogee
Ogee
An ogee is a curve , shaped somewhat like an S, consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite senses, so that the ends are parallel....
window heads have fleur-de-lys finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
s in front of lozenge
Lozenge
A lozenge , often referred to as a diamond, is a form of rhombus. The definition of lozenge is not strictly fixed, and it is sometimes used simply as a synonym for rhombus. Most often, though, lozenge refers to a thin rhombus—a rhombus with acute angles of 45°...
-patterned terracotta spandrel
Spandrel
A spandrel, less often spandril or splaundrel, is the space between two arches or between an arch and a rectangular enclosure....
s. The eaves
Eaves
The eaves of a roof are its lower edges. They usually project beyond the walls of the building to carry rain water away.-Etymology:"Eaves" is derived from Old English and is both the singular and plural form of the word.- Function :...
cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
has a corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
led trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
.
The attic windows have faience surrounds, similar to the first floor arcade, two trefoil-headed transom
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
lights over mullion
Mullion
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...
ed lights, each window is in a high gable with round-headed niche
Niche (architecture)
A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...
s in a banded faience decoration and moulded coping
Coping (architecture)
Coping , consists of the capping or covering of a wall.A splayed or wedge coping slopes in a single direction; a saddle coping slopes to either side of a central high point....
. Between the gables there are bracketed cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
d shelves carrying faience elephants under bracketed gables with trefoil bargeboard
Bargeboard
Bargeboard is a board fastened to the projecting gables of a roof to give them strength and to mask, hide and protect the otherwise exposed end of the horizontal timbers or purlins of the roof to which they were attached...
s with a crocket decoration and elaborate finials.
The round oriel
Oriel window
Oriel windows are a form of bay window commonly found in Gothic architecture, which project from the main wall of the building but do not reach to the ground. Corbels or brackets are often used to support this kind of window. They are seen in combination with the Tudor arch. This type of window was...
corner turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
has nookshafts like the other first floor arcades but with arcaded central lights and blind arches, below a band of linked, splay
Splay
Splay may refer to:*Splay, a verb meaning slant, slope or spread outwards*Splay , the difference between urine threshold and saturation*Splay , a J-pop band from Osaka...
ed shafts and large eaves gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
s. Above are further gablets are at the foot of the banded round turret with bracketed, eaves and a Buddhist-style conical faience roof with a series of ringed ribs. Smaller high cones on patterned drums are behind the crow-stepped gable foot at the end of each front.
The steeply-pitched roof is of slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
, has ridges from each gable with terracotta crestings, faeience gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
copings
Coping (architecture)
Coping , consists of the capping or covering of a wall.A splayed or wedge coping slopes in a single direction; a saddle coping slopes to either side of a central high point....
and tall, faience coping (behind the elephant gablets) and brick chimneys.