Site of 1960s Marconi Mobile factory, Waterhouse Lane (EHER 15675)

Early 1960s Marconi electronics factory. The office and factory is in good condition and is in use in 1999 but were surveyed prior to redevelopment in 2001.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. The Waterhouse Lane site (TL 6970 0640) is a Greenfield development dating from the early 1960s. ft consists of an L-plan building beside the road, and extensive sheds to the rear. The site is notable for the absence of a public entrance front. The L-plan building is of ferro concrete framed construction with flat roofs, and consists of a long range of two-storey height, set parallel with the road, and a three-storeyed office block forming a return range at the south end. The office block, and the southern half of the street range, have continuous bands of fenestration set above dark blue glass panels, but the east and west ends of the office block have an outer leaf of brown brick, interrupted at the west end only by a stair window. The main entrance is presumably concealed within the site, the public elevations being doorless and set back behind landscaped borders. The northern half of the street range has two distinct elements: to the south the elevation is of brick, incorporating small, irregularly spaced windows, while to the north the walling is of pressed steel sidings, and also irregularly fenestrated. All three elements of the street range are linked by a continuous fascia at eaves level, and appear to be contemporary. To the rear the site is occupied by a large single-storeyed shed consisting of three units, each with a shallow-pitched roof topped by a clerestory. The walls have pressed asbestos sidings of a kind encountered elsewhere on MoD sites. At the north-west corner there is a tall chimney. Further east there is a taller flat-roofed building with continuous fenestration to the west just below eaves level. These buildings are served by a goods entrance on the north side of the site. South of the office block there is an electricity sub-station. Photographs in NMR Swindon <2>. Additional material <3>. Survey undertaken on the Marconi Mobile site prior to redevelopment. The development will result in the demolition of the former canteen and office block and partial demolition and re-structuring of the factory/stores area. The buildings are modern and functional, constructed in the 1960s with pre-formed panelling over steel and ferro concrete frames. They are of limited architectural importance. <4>. Additional reference <5> - <7>