Situated in London's famous Fleet Street, the Grade II listed Daily Telegraph building is a must-see for any art deco fan. It was designed in 1928 and along with the nearby Daily Express building showcases art deco architecture at its best. Originally the headquarters to the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, until recently the building was occupied by Goldman Sachs bank after the Telegraph relocated in the 1980s. The building is also known as Peterborough Court after the Bishop of Peterborough, who used to have a property on Fleet Street. Peterborough Court is reportedly now owned by the Qatari royal family.
The building was designed by the Belfast-born architect Charles Ernest Elcock, after consulting with Scottish modernist architect Thomas S. Tait and engineer Sir Owen Williams (head engineer for the original Wembley Stadium). The building is seven windows wide and eight storeys tall and constructed from Portland stone. There is a large ornate clock attached to the building above street level on the third floor. The clock faces are decorated with classic art deco motics such as chevrons, diamonds and sunburst patterns. The design of the building is heavily influenced by art deco and is adorned with Egyptian style decoration to give it both a classical feel alomg with the obvious modern design elements.
Above the metalwork door is an art deco fresco depicting two Mercury styled figures created by sculptor Alfred James Oakley. Mercury is the Roman god of eloquence, messages and communication so there is an obvious connection with the newspaper within the theme. It is also thought Oakley carved the swallow motifs which appear on the building too.
Shortly after the Daily Telegrapgh commission Oakley became a monk and thereafter concentrated exclusively on religeous decoration.
‘The Past’ and ‘The Future’ are represented by top floor sculptures in the form of winged masks, carved in situ by the English artist Samuel Rabin. London Underground (champions of art deco design at the time) also commissioned Rabin for station building projects. On completion of the building it gained mixed reviews by critics but on the whole was deemed a triumph of monumental modern design.
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