A listed Victorian factory which helped to put Wolverhampton on the industrial map is in line to be converted into stylish apartments – a plan that could save the historic building from the bulldozers. In its 19th century heyday, the extensive Niphon Works in Blakenhall made everything from tin trunks to cashboxes, later even manufacturing bodies for Star cars. The building has been described by the Wolverhampton History and Heritage Society as “probably the best surviving Victorian factory in the city”. But it has been empty for some time and is now at risk of being pulled down. Now plans to create 20 flats on the site have been lodged with Wolverhampton City Council. Blakenhall councillor John Rowley, also a director of the Wolverhampton Historic Buildings Preservation Trust, said today: “Unless this application is approved, we are in danger of losing this fine building.” Under the new plans, work would be carried out to restore the exterior of the four-storey landmark factory, once one of the biggest in the city, which has been neglected in recent years. Part of the rear of the works would be converted into offices to act as a buffer between the apartments and a neighbouring industrial unit.
Niphon, built in 1865, produced internationally-renowned tinplate and Japanware – decorative goods made out of lacquered papier mache, for which the town was famous – for Robert Stround and Co. Employing more than 300 people, the firm later diversified into cabinet-making and made bodies for the Star motor company, based in nearby Frederick Street. Giving the plan his full backing, Councillor Rowley said: “Unlike previous plans for the site, this preserves all the frontage and parts of both wings. It is a classic Victorian quadranglar model, which is locally listed, and is not a building we want to lose.”
