The Bass Maltings in Sleaford, England are a large group of eight disused malt houses originally owned by the Bass Brewery of Burton upon Trent. Constructed between 1901 and 1907 to Herbert A. Couchman's design, the maltings are the largest group of malt houses in England;^[1] they have been designated Grade II* on the National Heritage List for England, recognising them as "particularly important ... of more than special interest."^[2]

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Bass Maltings, Sleaford
Location	Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England
Coordinates	52.9939°N 0.4007°W / 52.9939; -0.4007
OS grid reference	TF 07444 45255
Built	1901–1907
Architect	Herbert A. Couchman
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name	Former maltings of Bass Industrial Estate
Designated	14 November 1974
Reference no.	1062154
Location of Bass Maltings, Sleaford in Lincolnshire

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Part of the predominantly agricultural county of Lincolnshire,^[3] the Sleaford area was a major producer of barley in the 1880s. When germinated and dried to form malt, barley forms a key ingredient in the production of beer. Along with the town's railway links, this attracted the Bass brewery company to the town. The use of more efficient techniques at Bass's other plant led to the closure of Sleaford's maltings in 1959. Despite being used to rear poultry in the late 20th century, the buildings have not been fully occupied since Bass left and a fire in 1976 caused severe damage to three of the malthouses. Derelict since the 1990s, proposals to convert the buildings into office, retail and residential space were put on hold in early 2015 after lengthy delays over planning permission and the withdrawal of a major investor.

The maltings were constructed to designs by Herbert A. Couchman, Bass & Co.'s chief engineer.^[1] Built in red brick with Welsh slate roofing, the complex follows a rectangular plan along an east–west orientation: a central four-storey water tower is flanked by four malthouses. Behind the tower is a tall, octagonal chimney. The malthouses are identical in design and layout; barley was fed into a granary section, before being moved onto the germination floors and eventually transported to one of the twin kilns, where malting took place. Their southern fronts consisted of a six-storey building of five bays with a gable spanning three windows that faces the other ranges. Projecting northwards is a ten-bay section of four-storeys which formed the germination floors.^[1]

With a frontage of nearly 1,000 ft^[18] and a total area of 50,000 sq ft,^[19][20] the maltings complex is believed to be largest of its type in England;^[1] the architectural historians Sir Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris commented that "for sheer impressiveness little in English industrial architecture can equal the scale of this building.^[18] In 1974, it was recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building in recognition of its importance as an example of a large-scale industrial malting complex in which "considerations of form, massing, symmetry and scale have produced a design of high aesthetic quality combined with clear functional expression"; it also represents the importance of the English brewing industry in the late-19th and early 20th centuries and large-scale malting at its peak.^[1] Owing to its derelict state, the building was also placed on English Heritage's "Heritage at Risk" register in 2011.^[21]

There are five workers' cottages along the path from Mareham Lane to the industrial site; each are Grade II listed.^[22] The complex's offices,^[23] storage depot,^[24] weigh offices,^[25] cartsheds,^[26] gateways, walls^[27] and mess rooms are also listed at the same grade.^[28]

• Listed buildings in Sleaford