Albert
Chambers
Designed by Clegg & Knowles in 1868 for the Manchester Corporation
Gas Works Head Offices, this fine building joins many others proudly
in Albert Square and the surrounding streets. The erection of
Manchester
Town Hall had moved the central emphasis of the town
from the Cathedral area, and many commercial businesses sought
to build their corporate flagship offices here - a sort of status
symbol. Albert Chambers, built next door to the Memorial Hall,
is no exception. Its Venetian Gothic, (reflecting Alfred
Waterhouse's nearby Town Hall style), and clad entirely
in Darley Dale Stone. (See
Also: "Who Built
Manchester?").
St Andrew's
Chambers
Set on the corner of Mount Street with Albert Square is St Andrew's
Chambers, designed by George Tunstall Redmayne, a pupil of Waterhouse,
in 1872. Clad in Darley Dale stone, reflecting the style and detailing
of the Town Hall, with its finials and turrets, and recommended
in a contemporary edition of The Builder as one of the
finest buildings in Manchester.
(See
Also: "Who Built
Manchester?")
Queen's
Chambers
On the corner of Deansgate and John Dalton Street is Pennington
& Bridgen's Queen's Chambers. Originally built in 1876 as
government offices, it has lately been through several (unsuccessful)
reinventions, including becoming a short-lived wine bar at one
stage. A Victorian gothic building with a pointed arched corner
entrance with elegant wrought ironwork. Its roof is steeply pitched
in true gothic style with tall chimneys and castellations topping
the window bays.
(See
Also: "Who Built
Manchester?")
Prudential
Assurance Building
Numbers 76-80 King Street are the Prudential Assurances Building.
Designed by Alfred Waterhouse in 1881 in red terra cotta, brickwork
and sandstone, this was one of many buildings which Waterhouse
designed for the Prudential. A striking and severe building, its
rounded arched windows are more Norman than the fashionable gothic
style of the period.
The CWS
Building
The Co-operative Wholesale Society had bought land in Trafford
Park in 1903 and opened a bacon factory and flour mill
at Trafford Wharf and in 1905 it moved its Head Offices into Manchester
City Centre. The CWS Building was designed by F E L Harris, and
is probably the largest and most imposing building on Corporation
Street. Alongside it and slightly to the rear is the CIS Tower,
the Co-operative Insurances Services building constructed in the
1960s.
Northern
Rock Insurance Building
Designed in 1895 by Charles Heathcote for the Northern Rock Building
Society in a style described as "Flemish Renaissance"
this building is located at 64 Cross Street. Heathcote (1850-1938)
was one of Manchester's most productive and prolific architects,
who, after several apprenticeships with other renowned architectural
firms, had set up on his own in the city in 1873. His inner city
buildings display a wide variety of styles - all of which are
thought to be fine examples of Victorian architecture.
(See
Also: "Who Built
Manchester?")
Prince's
Building
The Prince's Building in Oxford Street is one of the city's few
Art Nouveau buildings, though only the facade survives, the remainder
of the building having been torn out and rebuilt as luxury apartments
in the mid-1990s. It was originally designed by I R E Birkett
in 1903 at the height of the continental Art Nouveau period, though
the style failed to catch on in Britain. Its front is decorated
by large terra cotta panelled window surrounds and its tall chimneys
are very distinctive.
(See
Also: "Who Built
Manchester?")
The Refuge
Assurance Building
The Refuge, (now the Meridien Palace
Hotel) is one of Manchester's most distinctive and
iconic landmarks on the southern approach to the city. It was
designed by Alfred Waterhouse and completed by his son, Paul,
between 1891 and 1910, and dominates the corner of Oxford Street
and Whitworth Street. Its red bricks were specially commissioned
to complement and match the terra cotta surface decorations. It
is a tall building of three storeys with long high windows, a
corner turreted gable entrance and a dominating 220 feet high
"campanile" clock tower. Below the tower is a covered
entrance, the porte cochère, displaying ornate wrought
iron and bronze work. Waterhouse had designed the original corner
block, and it was Paul Waterhouse who designed and completed the
second phase. The Refuge, (as locals still call it) is a Grade
II Listed Building of special architectural importance. (See
Also: "Who Built
Manchester?")
The Tootal
Building
Joseph Gibbons Sankey designed this building for Tootal, Broadhurst,
Lee & Company in 1898. It stands four storeys high, dominating
the west side of Oxford Street with its red brick and banded fawn-coloured
terra cotta. The ground floor and basement are rusticated. At
either end of the frontage are lantern topped gable turrets. This
was the home of Tootal Ties for many years. It has seven central
bays separated by Corinthian columns. On its southern side it
backs onto the Rochdale Canal flight of locks, hidden from the
throng of passers-by above by a high parapetted bridge.
St James's
Building
St James's Building in Oxford Street, opposite the Tootal Building,
was built by Clegg, Fryer & Penman for the Calico Printers'
Association in 1912. Built in the so-called "baroque"
style it is an enormous seven storey building (it contains 1000
rooms) it is clad in Portland stone, with 27 bays opening directly
onto Oxford Street. It has an equally huge central Gable entrance
with rising classical orders, broken pediment and topped by an
octagonal lantern.
(See
Also: "Who Built
Manchester?")
Blackfriars
House
Built by Harry Fairhurst in 1923 for the Bleachers' Association,
Blackfriars House is a tall slender building on a narrow plot
bordering the River Irwell. It is built in Portland stone, (in
need of some cleaning) and is somewhat of a mixture of styles
and courses. (See
Also: "Who Built
Manchester?")
