§ The house · 1931 to today
A printworks, then a hotel.
For sixty years this building printed the city’s timetables, tickets and election ballots. We kept the floor, the beams and the habit of working through the night.
Fig. 1 — The press hall, around 1934
Now room No. 10, The Press Hall
The building ledger.
Six entries, ninety-five years
1931
Built for Calder & Sons
Four floors of brick and steel go up in eleven months. The first job off the press is a tram timetable.
1958
A floor is added
The attic is raised to make room for a bindery. Its oak shelving now lines room No. 08.
1989
The last press stops
Printing moves out of the city. The machines are sold, but the ink stays in the concrete.
2009
Twelve quiet years
The building stands empty. Pigeons in the press hall, ivy on the courtyard wall.
2021
Restoration begins
We seal the floor, clean the beams and cut twelve brass keys by hand.
2024
Brassline opens
The front desk rings its bell for the first guest at 15:00 on a Tuesday.
The directory board by the stairs
Who sleeps where.
A
11 The Lantern · 12 The Long Key · Roof terrace
3
09 The Galley · 10 The Press Hall
2
06 The Inkwell · 07 The Foreman’s · 08 The Bindery
1
03 The Typesetter · 04 The Corner · 05 The Compositor
G
Front desk · The Counter · 01 The Proof Room · 02 The Ledger · Courtyard