Dewsbury Arcade: Local firm responsible for iconic glass roof to install new roof, Kirklees Council announces

The Grade II Listed Building’s glass roof will be replaced by Standard Patent Glazing, a Dewsbury-based company that installed the original glazed roof back when the arcade first opened in 1899, Kirklees Council has announced.

Coun Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration, said: "The Dewsbury Arcade is an iconic part of Dewsbury’s heritage, and the roof is its most prominent feature. We're thrilled to be able to work with Standard Patent Glazing, the company that originally installed the roof all those years ago.

"Using the same local firm is a fantastic nod to the original commissioners, the Dewsbury Board of Guardians. As we are now the guardians of the arcade, through this regeneration work, we want to take it back to its original glory and ensure it is fit for the next 125 years of retail in the town."

It forms part of a wider renovation of Dewsbury Arcade, including the original York stone floor being taken up and cleaned, and the installation of a lift at the Corporation Street end of the building.

The building has over 131 windows, which will all be conserved in line with the Listed Building planning rules by window restorers GH Joinery.

Kirklees College students will also gain experience in heritage stone masonry with plans for the Construction Skill Village scheme to undertake Skills Bootcamps at the building site.

The work is being funded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Getting Building Fund, the government’s Towns Fund and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The main works are being carried out by William Birch and Sons, a Yorkshire-based construction company specialising in restoring heritage buildings.

The building has been empty since 2016, and its renovation has formed part of the Dewsbury Blueprint since it was purchased by the council in 2020.

Kirklees Council said further work, both in terms of repairs and restoration and in terms of an electrical and digital upgrade, will bring the building “into the twenty-first century and create a better offering for future tenants and visitors alike.”