Bryant and May Factory, Melbourne
The Bryant and May Factory is located in the suburb of Cremorne in Melbourne, Australia. It was constructed in 1909 as the Empire Works to a design by prolific Melbourne architect William Pitt.Built in the Edwardian period in the Art Noveau style (1902-1918). It was purchased soon after by British safety match manufacturer Bryant and May, who significantly expanded the building, adding another level and the landmark clock tower.
Bryant and May were unique in that they operated as a model factory, providing workers with conditions and amenities which even today seem generous. These included a dining hall and sports facilities such as a tennis court and bowling green which were constructed in the 1920s.
Bryant and May ceased Australian match manufacture in the early 1980s as a result of import competition.[1] Their iconic Redheads matches are now imported from Sweden. The complex has since been converted for use as offices and showrooms but is extremely well preserved. It is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.
The Bryant and May complex at 560 Church Street, Richmond, comprises a series of factory buildings constructed of red brick with rendered dressings. The building facing Church street is three storeys high, divided into 5 bays separated by red brick piers which rise through the first and second floors. At ground floor level, the pilasters have rendered foliated capitals supporting a rendered dentillated cornice. The central entrance archway has alternating red brick and rendered voussoirs. The timber-framed windows have rendered sills and heads, and the spandrels between the first and second floor windows are embellished with Architecturally Nouveau style decoration. A modillioned cornice runs across the building above the second floor, above which is a rendered parapet surmounted by a semi-circular arched pediment in the centre. The side elevations are similarly articulated, and extend almost the full depth of the site. The other buildings on the site constructed in the 1910s, 20s and 30s, are designed in a similar style. Located at the rear (west) of the site is a tall red brick clock tower, also of red brick construction. The upper level containing the clock is rendered, and the clock face bears the name BRYANT AND MAY in place of numbers.Victorian Heritage Register. - See more at: (http://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/103154#sthash.irXjiFvx.dpuf)
References
- ↑ "60 DISMISSED.". The Advocate (Burnie, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 9 September 1932. p. 5. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
External links
- FORMER BRYANT & MAY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX, Victorian Heritage Database
Coordinates: 37°49′46″S 144°59′49″E / 37.82944°S 144.99694°E