Art Deco 'Hallmark House'

Some of you may remember, last year, I mentioned that 'Hallmark House', the old Sharpes/Hallmark Cards factory, sited on the hill above Shipley, was up for sale. (See HERE) The good news is that the Grade II listed building and its site has now been sold to a property developer. They are proposing to turn it into apartments, subject of course to getting planning permission. Ahead of the submission and I suppose in order to gauge public opinion, they were holding a public exhibition, so my friend and I went along (as much in order to see the inside of the building as to see the plans!) Last time I went, I couldn't get close because of the security, so I got better photos this time.

Built as the headquarters for the printing firm W N Sharpe Ltd, it was opened in 1937, and has some interesting 'art deco' features, both on the exterior and in the main entrance inside. It was later taken over by Hallmark Cards, who have since amalgamated their business on another site in Bradford.

It's hard to tell exactly what of the inside is original, since it was refurbished in 2001, but there is some lovely panelling and detailing, and two art deco fireplaces in the entrance hall. Some of the clocks were missing, presumably put into safe storage to prevent theft while the building is empty.

The rest of the building had been kitted out conventionally as (now empty) office space. I didn't like to take close-up photos of the actual plans, but the initial thinking is to convert the main building, keeping its frontage intact and also build new units in the car park at the back, giving a total of about 380 small residences: studios, one and two bedroom apartments. Hopefully they will be able to agree the development, as otherwise it will all simply deteriorate, which would be a shame.