**Document:** Historic Building Recording
**Application:** 26/10057/AIR — Information in relation to Condition 11 of PA 24/91051/B detailing historic building recording
**Decision:**
**Decision Date:**
**Parish:** Port Erin
**Document Type:** report / heritage_impact_assessment
**Source:** https://planningportal.im/a/130842-port-erin-the-flower-pot/documents/1594427

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# Historic Building Recording

## Building description

The building is a single‑storey, rectangular‑plan former commercial/industrial workshop arranged on a north–south axis, with a continuous parapet, shallow pyramidal roof and rendered masonry elevations set on a painted plinth. The long east and west faces are punctuated by a regular sequence of tall, multi‑pane timber windows set in painted timber surrounds with shallow sills; these large openings and open-plan interior, define the building’s original workshop/showroom character.

The principal forecourt frontage contains a large, secondary glazed display opening set within a shallow recess, while a narrow service yard and low stone boundary wall run along the north side. The rear/north elevation is plain and functional, with a modern PVC personnel door and PVC window and visible external services.

The building comprises one large open‑plan workshop/showroom with a small rectangular service block to the rear that originally contained a private office and WC. The long elevations are pierced by nine tall, multi‑pane timber windows, five on the west elevation and four on the east, the entranceway occupying the position corresponding to the fifth window on the opposite side. The windows are formed beneath concrete lintels, and their internal sills are lined with Milton tiles. These large, tall apertures would have admitted abundant daylight to the principal space. The entrance way is almost double‑height, providing clearance for large‑object access necessary for the building’s commercial/light‑industrial purpose. Internally, the principal space reads as originally open in plan as there is no evidence of interior divides. A wooden herringbone floor survives in the main area. The rear compartment is contemporary with the main block, demonstrated by the continuous use of Milton tiles around the window reveals and as tiled skirting. The small rear room now used as a boiler room was originally a second W.C. and retains the original corner sink location and soil outflow.

The wide forecourt glazed opening is a later, secondary insertion associated with subsequent showroom use, possibly around the same time the ceiling was lowered and metal internal glazing with fire safety glass was installed in the window bays but still sits on the original tiled sills.

The building’s fabric and fittings place it firmly in the early twentieth century. The combination of a parapet roofline and decorative cast‑iron rainwater fittings, with moulded hoppers with a decorative boss and round cast‑iron downpipe, suggests a conscious design towards a functional but beautiful modern industrial or civic unit. The building was built with original provision for indoor plumbing and formal drainage. Similarly, the use of Milton tiles, concrete window lintels and the disciplined

regularity of the fenestration indicate an interwar or early twentieth‑century date (possibly as late as the 1940s). The proportions and detailing are consistent with a purpose‑built modern utility building of the period: conceived to house new technology and services (a telephone exchange is a plausible original use). Pairing functional planning with selected refined fittings and access to good light, producing a modern building which would have been comfortable to work in.

Overall, the unit is a good example of an early twentieth‑century, purpose‑built industrial/commercial premises, brick‑built beneath its render, combining pragmatic constructional elements with considered architectural accoutrements that conveyed contemporary modernity.

Images – see plans for location of photographer

## Exterior

Image Ex01 – exterior, north facing elevation

![A photograph showing the weathered exterior facade of a single-story commercial building with peeling render and a large storefront window.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305110.jpg)

Image Ex02 – exterior, east elevation

![A photograph showing the weathered side elevation of a white rendered building with black sash windows and a downpipe, taken from a wet alleyway.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305100.jpg)
Left: Image Ex03 – exterior, cast-iron downpipe

![A low-angle photograph showing the weathered exterior wall of a building, featuring a black drainpipe and ventilation grilles.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305101.jpg)

Right: Image Ex04 – exterior, cast-iron downpipe, decorative detail and brick-built air vent

![A close-up photograph showing a black vertical drainpipe attached to a weathered white wall with a ventilation grille nearby.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305102.jpg)

Image Ex05 – exterior, east elevation

Ex06 – exterior, view looking south-east

![A photograph showing the weathered cream exterior wall of a building featuring dark-framed multi-paned windows and a vertical drainpipe.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305111.jpg)

![A photograph showing the exterior of a weathered, white-walled building with peeling paint and large windows behind a metal gate.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305112.jpg)

- Image Ex07 – exterior, west elevation looking south
- Image Ex08 – exterior, view looking south-west

![A photograph showing the side elevation of a weathered, single-story building with peeling render and multi-pane windows, likely an outbuilding or former agricultural structure.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305113.jpg)

![A photograph showing a weathered white single-story building with large glass windows, likely a garage or workshop, situated next to a brick building and wooden fence.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305114.jpg)

Image Ex09 – exterior, window detail

Image Ex10 – exterior, downpipe detail

![A close-up photograph of a traditional multi-pane sash window set into a cream rendered wall, likely documenting historic building details.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305115.jpg)

![A close-up photograph showing a black metal rainwater downpipe and drainage fitting attached to a weathered, light-colored exterior wall.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305116.jpg)

- Image Ex11 – exterior, rear compartment west elevation
- Image Ex12 – exterior, west elevation looking north

![Photograph showing the exterior wall of a cream-rendered building with a multi-paned window and a black drainpipe. The ground in the foreground is overgrown with vegetation.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305117.jpg)

![A side elevation photograph of a long, single-story building with cream render and multiple sash windows, likely part of a historic building recording.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305118.jpg)

- Image Ex13 – exterior, rear compartment south elevation
- Image Ex14 – exterior, rear compartment downpipe detail

![A photograph showing a weathered, single-story building with peeling render and an overgrown front garden area.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305119.jpg)

![A close-up photograph of a weathered building exterior showing significant peeling render, a white window frame, and a black drainpipe.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305120.jpg)

Image Ex15 – exterior, rear compartment south elevation

Image Ex16 – exterior, west boundary wall

![A photograph showing the exterior of a weathered, single-story building with significant peeling render and overgrown vegetation in the foreground.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305121.jpg)

![A photograph showing an overgrown grassy area between buildings, featuring a stone boundary wall and a stone outbuilding with a white door.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305122.jpg)

Image Ex17 – exterior, service yard and south boundary wall

Image Ex18 – exterior, west boundary wall

![A photograph showing an overgrown plot of land with existing outbuildings and structures in the background under a clear blue sky.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305123.jpg)

![A photograph showing a narrow grassy path between a white garage structure with an old stone wall and a cream-colored house.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305124.jpg)

Image Ex19 – exterior, exposed concrete lintel above window

Left: Image Ex20 – exterior, entranceway with downpipe and brick air vent detail Right: Image Ex21 – exterior, entranceway in relation to the window

![A close-up photograph showing a six-pane window set into a weathered wall with significant horizontal cracking in the render above the frame.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305125.jpg)

![A weathered white building exterior featuring a dark door and window, with stacked orange traffic barriers and a cone in the foreground.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305126.jpg)

![A photograph showing the weathered exterior wall of a single-story building featuring a black-framed window, a vertical downpipe, and a dark door.](https://images.planningportal.im/2026/04/7305127.jpg)

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*Data sourced from the Isle of Man public planning register under the [Isle of Man Open Government Licence](https://www.gov.im/about-this-site/open-government-licence/).*
*Canonical page: https://planningportal.im/a/130842-port-erin-the-flower-pot/documents/1594427*