This building has always intrigued me, its sits amongst what was formerly the heart of Manchester’s Rag Trade. It is an area of signs and lost industry, the comings and goings having been and gone.
The surrounding buildings are gradually being refurbished or replaced, but somehow 46 Marshall Street is bucking the trend, though at some point someone somewhere will find over £750,000.
Gradually its wooden framed windows become the poked out eyes of its soul.
Light fittings hang limp and unlit, as the interior decor deteriorates.
The restless rust inhabits the lower metallic fenestration.
Block work blocks the blocked up entrances.
The ampersand can be traced back to the 1st century AD and the old Roman cursive, in which the letters E and T occasionally were written together to form a ligature.
Heaton Lane car park is closed while demolition works take place.
Plans to demolish the car park were submitted by Stockport Council in September this year.
The plans propose removing the multi-storey car park down to ‘slab level’
The work itself will be carried out by removing floor slabs one by one from the parking bays, from the ground upwards. Contractor PP O’Connor has said it will take noise and dust into consideration when completing the works.
Dust suppression systems will be in place to minimise pollution.
Noise levels are not considered likely to be a nuisance, however the site manager will be able to review the demolition process if it’s deemed too high.
There car park is almost at the heart – on the edge of plans to regenerate the town centre.
The Strategic Regeneration Framework for Stockport Town Centre West set out how up to 4,000 new homes and 1m sq. ft of new employment floorspace and 5,300 new jobs could be delivered across Town Centre West by 2035.
In order to assess the overall economic benefit of an expanded Mayoral development area Stockport Council have developed an SRF for Stockport Town Centre East. This SRF sets out an illustrative masterplan to guide the creation of Stockport’s new neighbourhoods and achieve comprehensive urban regeneration by 2040. Together the SRFs for Town Centre West and Town Centre East will guide the development of a total of 8,000 new homes alongside services and amenities. The development set out in the SRFs will drive a transformational impact on the Stockport economy.
The Corporation is expected to be established in early 2026. It will provide a single, focused body for local decision-making; engagement with stakeholders including government departments, public agencies; private sector landowners, and developers; and to drive investment across the public and private sectors to realise the shared vision for the regeneration of the Area.
The foundation stone for the new building was laid by Sir Offley Wakeman, a former chairman of the county council, on 25 July 1964. It was designed by Ralph Crowe, the County Architect, in the Modernist style, built at a cost of £1.8 million and was completed in April 1966.
Having visited and snapped way back in June 2024, I returned in October 2025.
I had been asked to speak to the Shrewsbury Civic Society, regarding the history of Modernism in support of their campaign to save Shirehall.
The previous County Council were disposed toward demolition, the current administration are a little more circumspect.
Shropshire Council is considering a return to its former headquarters, less than a year after it moved out. The authority moved from 1960s-built Shirehall in Shrewsbury to the Guildhall in Frankwell, and said doing so would save up to £600,000 per year.
At a meeting on Wednesday, cabinet member for finance Roger Evans said the Liberal Democrats, who lead the council, had paused the demolition and sale of the land, and may retain parts of the building – but only if it could afford to do so.
“We would like to retain the council chamber and some of the associated buildings, but we do need to take account for the cost both in cash terms and in net zero terms,” he said. “What we have done is paused this decision and asked experts to look at it again, look at the whole site, do a reappraisal. The results are just now being recieved.
“I want to keep it as much as we can afford, both environmentally and cash-wise. Whether we can or not will depend, the council is strapped for cash.”
The days when a vast multitude of things came and went have been and gone.
The docks as they were are no more.
Yet in 2023, the Port of Liverpool was the UK’s fourth busiest container port, handling over 30 million tonnes of freight per annum. It handles a wide variety of cargo, including containers, bulk cargoes such as coal, grain and animal feed, and roll-on/roll-off cargoes such as cars, trucks and recycled metals. The port is also home to one of the largest cruise terminals in the UK which handles approximately 200,000 passengers and over 100 cruise ships each year.
Now with the opening of the Titanic Hotel in the Stanley Dock and the arrival of the Toffees just up the road at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, the whole area is slowly being transformed into a destination, as they say in modern parlance.
However much of the Industrial heritage remains in various states of disarray, used and possibly disabused, but hanging on in there.
Plans for the new town centre started to be developed in 1960 by Chief Architect Roy Gazzard. The process would go through eight sets of revisions before they were finally approved in 1968. Yoden Way was then pedestrianised, and the small row of shops built in 1950’s was incorporated into the new shopping precinct, forming the north western end of Yoden Way. Like many other town centres across Britain undergoing modernisation, the high-street was split onto two levels, with ramps providing access to raised walkways.
The construction of Lee House – named after Peter Lee, started in 1974. Once completed, the Development Corporation moved its Headquarters from Old Shotton Hall to Lee House in 1976, occupying the building until it was sold in 1984 and remaining staff relocated to Newton Aycliffe.
Enhancing the built environment, Peterlee Town Centre was furnished with play equipment, an ornamental pond, open air escalators, and a sculpture by John Pasmore – son of Victor.
These features were later removed after the town centre was sold to Teesdale Investments – Peterlee Limited in 1985.
Access ramp at the bottom end of Yoden Way, prior to the construction of Lee House in 1973.
It’s 2021 and I arrive at the Bus Station.
Immediately adjacent is Ridgemount House. – once home to the Job Centre.
Firefighters were called to the disused Ridgemount House on Bede Way in Peterlee on Wednesday August 16th 2023 at about 8.20pm after reports of a blaze.
Crews found a fire had broken out in the first floor of the building, which was found to be the home of thousands of pounds worth of cannabis plants back in 2020, after a man converted two floors for use as a drug farm.
Tarlochan Singh, owner of Ridgemount House, has been prosecuted following the discovery of several serious fire safety breaches at the property.
Readers have voted Peterlee nightspot Vibe as the ‘most tragic hometown club’ in the North East
Formerly known as The Dance Factory, Vibe, in Peterlee town centre, is a place famous for it’s almost impossible to get off ‘tramp stamp’ and next door neighbour The Lodge, where many locals will go for pre-drinks and some karaoke before heading to the club.
The bar which once boasted a bijou rotunda with an exclusive upper terrace, has now closed.
Back in 1973 the hotel was badged as the Norseman.
The giants of Sporting Lisbon faced Sunderland in the European Cup Winners Cup and they spent the build-up to the tie in the Norseman Hotel. They met local children, took a walk in the dene, signed autographs and even tried riding a Chopper bike. The side lost 2-1 at Roker Park to a talented Sunderland team before overcoming the Black Cats 2-0 back in Portugal.
Back in 2021 Sambuca was the other town centre bar – badged with Olde English type.
Formerly the Red Lion a Cameron’s estate pub.
April 20th 2014 – Happy Easter everyone. We are open today all the way to 10pm – £2 bottles VHFs, house spirits only £3 double, buckets £4, Corona £2.50 selected shots 50p, cider cans £1 + £2 Karaoke – from now on everyone who sings gets a free shot Then we have the best in all your favourite dance ‘n’ house tunes to take you into Monday.
Onward to the Shopping Centre.
Yoden Way looking towards Lee House in 1977.
Photographs: JR James
The 1950’s shops are still in situ.
Though some of the original architectural detailing and features are no more.
Lee House is still standing but vacant.
Lee House was once home to charity and community groups, but in 2015 the building owners ordered them to vacate the property.Even the building’s clock has stopped working and has been stuck on the same ten-past-two reading.
However, Durham County Council has now confirmed the building is in new hands. Economic development manager Graham Wood said: “We have worked with the previous owner to try to ensure the building is secured while we await proposals for its long-term future.
Four fire engines rushed to Lee House on Upper Yoden Way in Peterlee on Friday afternoon September 19th 2025 after a fire broke out on the first floor of the seven floor building.
Stafford Station – Multi-Storey Car Park Station Road ST16 2AA
Arriving by train one Saturday morning at the Stafford Station, with time on my hands, I thought to take a look at the adjacent multi-storey car park.
As a pedestrian I found it to be first rate, clean and well signed and designed, easy access by both stairways and lifts, affording panoramic views of the town.
The current station was built in 1962, by the architect William Robert Headley, as part of the modernisation programme which saw the electrification of the West Coast Main Line.
On leaving the station there is an as yet partially un-let Sixties office block to let – Victoria Park House.
Onward to the County Technical College 1937 Grade II Listed – interior completed 1946.
The shell of the building was completed in 1937, after which it was used as an American army hospital during the war, then completed afterwards.
Heavily loaded with Art Deco details.
The new £28m three-storey Skills & Innovation Centre at Stafford College, completed in August 2023, was one of the first further education college schemes to be delivered under the DfE framework and a pathfinder scheme for delivery in accordance with the Further Education Output Specification. The new Centre is equipped with cutting-edge equipment and state-of-the-art facilities for construction, engineering and hybrid / electric vehicle maintenance facilities, as well as IT rich seminar suites and open learning break-out spaces along with a 4-court sports hall, a fully-equipped gym and a flexible 300-seat auditorium.
A 1970’s block was demolished to make way for the new development.
Almost everywhere we go we find a PoMo Crown Courts 1991 – architects: Associated Architects of Birmingham, cost of £10.4 million.
The war memorial of 1922 is by Joseph James Whitehead.
Sneaking through the alley to and before the McDonalds – one many more recent buildings with jetted lead clad bays.
Keeping the town Tudor one bay at a time..
Further along a Sixties Boots.
The Classical stone frontage of the Guildhall Shopping Centre.
Working with Mercia Real Estate, Glancy Nicholls Architects have designed a contextual mixed-use scheme in the heart of Stafford Town Centre, within the footprint of a disused shopping centre. This includes the regeneration of the 1930’s Guildhall building that serves as the main entrance to the shopping centre and the listed Market Square building.
Around the corner a somewhat neglected retail development.
And a long lost Wilko.
Amidst it all the curious time warp that is Trinity Church 1988.
It is used by Methodist and United Reformed Church congregations.
Tucked away in a minor maze of retail a piece of figurative commemorative public art by Glynis Owen Jones, entitled Stafford Faces.
Around the corner a big B&M.
Further along a brick FoB Telephone Exchange of 1959.
Adjoined by the County Records building.
Pringle Richards Sharratt Architects have been appointed by Staffordshire County Council to create a new History Centre for Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent.
The new £4m centre will be located on Eastgate Street in Stafford and will hold historical records and collections up to 1,000 years old.
The scheme will help to provide a rejuvenated service combining the existing Records Office building and William Salt Library, in Stafford and provide a welcoming destination for all of those with an interest in local history. This will include bringing on to the Stafford site the Lichfield Records Office and aspects of the County museum.
Further FoB in the Civic Building.
Close by the Staffordshire Place a civic and retail mixed use development.
Our scheme delivers 135,000 ft2 of high quality contemporary office space across two buildings linked by a new town square. The ground floor incorporates a mix of retail and leisure uses around a sequence of smaller public spaces to maximise the amount of visible active frontage and create a natural extension to the town centre.
Sustainability issues fundamentally informed the design approach, from mitigating energy consumption to ‘future proofing’ the finished building. The building achieves a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating and a European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive Rating ‘A’.
Surprise surprise another retail development Riverside.
£70m riverside town centre retail and leisure development in the heart of Stafford. The 230,000 sq. ft. scheme anchored by M&S will deliver 18 retail units arranged over ground and first floors, five leisure units and a six-screen cinema to complement and strengthen the town centre economy and create new businesses and jobs.
Coniston, Windemere and Rydal were among the first council homes to be built in Stafford, between 1951-52, under the direction of County Architect CM Coombes.
The flats were built as a result of The Housing – Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1946, which gave subsidies to local authorities to provide social housing. The expansion of the Borough Council’s civic duties included the employment of County Architects, in this case CM Coombes FRIBA, to whom these flats are attributed.
54 flats were built in total, to a distinctly Modernist design, and their appearance and setting are very well preserved.
Let’s head back into the town centre – to the Grade II ListedPicture House 1914
The Picture House was closed on 30th March 1995 after a three week run of Disclosure starring Michael Douglas, there were seventy eight attending the final performance.
It was disposed of by the Rank Organisation in July 1981 and was taken over by the Hutchinson Leisure Group who re-named it Astra Cinema. In December 1981 it was tripled with 435 seats in the former stalls and two mini cinemas in the former circle seating 170 and 168.
In 1988 it was taken over by Apollo Cinemas and re-named Apollo Cinema. The downstairs cinema was closed and became a bingo club for a couple of years, during which time the two mini cinemas in the former circle remained open. The bingo operation gave way to films again in 1990 and all three screens were again open, with seating for 305, 170 and 164. In January 2014 it was taken over by the Curzon Cinemas chain and renamed Stafford Cinema.
It was closed on 18th December 2017 with Star Wars:The Last Jedi.
May I first thanks Parish Administrator Catherine, for taking the time to open the church for our visiting group of Modernists this Saturday – and providing us with the warmest of welcomes, along with a brew and a biscuit or two.
The church was designed by Jerzy Faczynski of Weightman and Bullen. Cardinal Heenan blessed the foundation stone in 1962 and the new church was completed ready for its consecration and dedication by Archbishop Beck in April 1964.
The church is a testament to the ambition, imagination and optimism of its age. Significantly, the building was the collaborative work of both immigrant and native architects, artists and designers.
A folded slab roof of ninety five feet in diameter, its concrete cast on site, bearing the marks of the wooden shuttering, contrasting with the smooth surface of the pre-cast valley beams.
The Crucifix Rex frame is by Alan Roberts and the ceramic figure by Adam Kossowski.
The organ is designed by JW Walker & Son.
The candlesticks and metal furnishings in all the Chapels were fashioned in the foundry of Messrs Bagnall of Kirkby to the design of Robin McGhie.
The curved benches are of Ghana mahogany and were made by the Robert Thompson Craftsmen of Kilburn, the steel work by GS Graham of Stokesley. The distinctive Mouseman mouse can be found on several of the bench ends.
Dalle de Verre stained glass by Patrick Reyntiens, thirty-six panels abstract totalling two hundred and thirty three feet in length.
The theme for the windows is taken from the first nine verses of Genesis, and the passage of Proverbs c. vii. Amorphous undifferentiated matter with the beginnings of definition and pattern, with here and there the promise of order and system.
The Benedictines came to Leyland in 1845 and the first Church of St. Mary’s was built on Worden Lane in 1854. The Catholic population was small at this time, but had grown to around 500 by 1900. Growth was assisted by the industrial development of Leyland and after the Second World War the town was earmarked as the centre of a new town planned in central Lancashire. By the early 1960’s, the Catholic population was 5,000. Fr Edmund Fitzsimmons, parish priest from 1952, was a guiding force in the decision to build a large new church of advanced liturgical design, inspired by progressive continental church architecture of the mid 20th century. The church was designed by Jerzy Faczynski of Weightman and Bullen. Cardinal Heenan blessed the foundation stone in 1962 and the new church was completed ready for its consecration and dedication by Archbishop Beck in April 1964.
This was a world of heavy and light engineering, which reached in a broad swathe across Greater Manchester, from Stockport to Cheetham Hill and beyond.
This is the Gorton Works – illustrations taken from Graces Guide.
This was a world of terraced houses and corner shops, side by side with the local works.
This is that corner of Williams Street and Sunny Brow Road today.
Victoria Works Sunny Brow Road.
Victoria Works Williams Street
Victoria Works Williams Road
Manchester’s engineering industry has subsequently been seriously diminished.
The building became a base for toilet paper manufacturing and distribution.
But the metal beat goes on in both Wolverhampton and Florida.
Originally formed in 1847, Kendall and Gent enjoyed many years as one of the biggest machine tool manufacturers in the UK, producing many large machines which are still in production today. Many of the tangential threading machines are still used in pipe, bolt and stud threading.
Having passed through here on more than one occasion, it only seemed polite to stop and take a look around.
It is the second busiest interchange in the county, after Stoke-on-Trent. It serves the market and county town, as well as surrounding villages. The station lies on the junction of the Trent Valley line, the Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line and the West Coast Main Line; it was also the terminus for the former Stafford–Uttoxeter and Stafford–Shrewsbury lines.
The current station was built in 1962, by the architect William Robert Headley, as part of the modernisation programme which saw the electrification of the West Coast Main Line.
We have often walked by the Magistrates’ Courts on the Preston Walk.
So, it’s about time this low lying white tiled delight received some well deserved attention.
Though recently there have been structural problems:
The safety of everyone who uses our courts is paramount and the decision to temporarily close Blackpool and Preston Magistrates’ courts was made in line with professional advice following the detection of defective Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete. These court buildings will reopen once they are assessed as safe by professionals following the completion of required remedial works.
There have also been solutions:
Preston Magistrates’ Court is currently scheduled to reopen in January 2024.
Local lad Tom Finney was unable for comment, though saddened to hear that the Microgramma sign was no longer in situ.
Copyright Rex Shutterstock
Microgramma is a sans-serif typeface designed by Aldo Novarese and Alessandro Butti for the Nebiolo Type Foundry in 1952. It became popular for use with technical illustrations in the 1960s, and was a favourite of graphic designers by the early 1970s.
The building is the work of the Borough Architects under John Hatton – though I am reliably informed that County Architect Roger Booth took an advisory role.
The Courts certainly echoes many of the stylistic and material characteristics of his work, particularly the County Archives, with similar piloti and glazing.
So let’s take a circuitous tour.
This is the seriously neglected seating area.
The Courts once had a Roger Booth Police Station as a neighbour.
Photographs – Richard Brook
Converted to apartments in 2013, with current plans for further developments.
More than 200 student flats are set to be built on part of Preston’s former divisional police headquarters.Preston City Council planning officers have recommended that councillors give the go-ahead to the scheme – at the junction of Walker Street and Lawson Street, to the rear of the magistrates’ and crown courts.
The part of the plot where the new ‘studio apartments’ would be erected is currently occupied by a multi-level public car park, accessed from Saul Street, which has been operated as a pay and display facility by Chorley-based Parking Eye for the last nine years.
Other Roger Booth police stations have also been visited by the wrecking ball, Blackpool and Bury are now no longer extant.
The current church occupies this corner site by the mini roundabout – a very particular architectural style, an angular brick low level ziggurat, with buttresses to the side elevation and entrance. There are glazed brick details around the buttresses, windows and doors.
It has a central entrance which divides the main body of the chapel from the function room.
There are Victorian stained glass panels, which may be from the previous chapel.
Below the pitched roof there is a modern inset decorative glass panel.
In 1870 the street pattern has yet to be established, between the South Junction railway and Chester Road. The area is occupied by a Nursery. Pomona Gardens sits beside the river, and the Corn Brook is clearly visible. To the right are the Hulme Barracks, closed and demolished in 1914.
Corn Brook Textile Street 1947
In 1884 there is new housing to the right of Chester Road.
In 1904 the Pomona Docks have been established and the are around Hadfield Street fully developed.
Pomona Docks 1923
This is an aerial view from 1930, there area is now a dense network of streets to the north of Chester Road, transport infrastructure, housing and industry sit side by side.
2025 the street pattern is still extant – but what has survived?
The Empress Brewery as seen on the previous Chester Road post.
The Empress Brewing Company was established by Charles Dawes in c. 1880, the brewery closed in 1955.
The building was converted into offices in 1992 as part of the development of the Empress Business Centre, which saw new office and business units built to form a courtyard.
24 Design Ltd Hadfield Street – an exhibition design and build practice, working extensively within the museum and heritage sector.
Glancy Fawcett Lund Street, A project-based, luxury lifestyle supplier delivering exquisite homeware for superyachts, residences and private jets.
Concept Life Sciences Hadfield Street, your trusted partner from concept to clinic. We are your integrated drug discovery and development partner for complex challenges, renowned scientific knowledge, and strategic execution across all modalities from small molecule and biologics to cell and gene therapies.
They seem to have left the building.
J Parker‘sLtd Hadfield Street, Dutch bulb importers – competitive prices across all our garden plant and bulb ranges, huge range, unbeatable prices, established 1933.
Empress Mill latterly Orchid Point Empress Street.
Built between 1903 and 1909, it echoes the industrial character of the larger industrial buildings on Chester Road and Empress Street. The property is listed as a smallware factory in the occupation of Woolf & Higham manufacturers of small wares, upholsterers’ trimmings, worsted bindings, woven venetian ladder tapes, cotton and linen venetian blind webs, spindle bandings, window blind cords, carpet bindings, bed laces. The works is shown on the Ordnance Survey of 1955 as an Engineering Works – Printing Machinery.
Local Heritage List
In 2011, FreshStart Living purchased the building, alongside others nearby, as part of a £9 million development ‘breathing new life’ into this corner of Old Trafford with 116 one and two-bedroom apartments. But, on the inside, leaking roofs, mould, exposed electrical wires and a dodgy gas connection paint a completely different picture.
Not long after purchasing it, we discovered the entire building was being powered by a generator.
Empress Mill was turned into an apartment block as part of a development called Orchid Point. It is understood some residents were allowed to move in twelve years ago, but these residents were asked to move out after a number of years due to safety issues.
On February 20th 2023, the Empress Mill was one of a number of buildings described as unsafe and unsecure by Trafford Council.
The emergency services were called to Empress Mill at 5.15am on Friday. Ten appliances from across the region, including specialist appliances called a stinger and a scorpion, attended the abandoned mill turned apartment block off Chester Road and firefighters battled the blaze into the afternoon.
Officers from Trafford Council have taken firm action to put a stop to anti-social behaviour at a vacant block of flats in the Old Trafford area.
Drug addicts and thieves have descended on Aura Court since much of it was closed in August 2020 by Greater Manchester Fire Service due to a decaying non-compliant fire escape.
The site along with Venos and Progress House is up for sale.
A rare development opportunity in Central Manchester with excellent access to Manchester City Centre Close to Salford Quays, Old Trafford Football and Cricket Grounds along with White City Retail Park The total site covers an area of approximately 2.10 Acres, historic planning consents granted on the site for in excess of 200 flats plus additional commercial accommodation.
Duckworth’s specialised in the manufacture of concentrated soluble essences, essential oils and colours supplied to the aerated water trade – local ‘pop’ men. They were leaders in the field, supplying flavours and essences around the world and developing products tailored to specific markets.
Duckworth & Co was acquired by Cargill Flavor Systems Ltd in 2003, the company vacated the Chester Road premises in 2006.
After buying the building in 2007 for a reported £3.6m, the Church of Scientology planned to re-open the building by either 2010 or 2011.
Leaders of the religious group have submitted a new application to carry out external and internal works. A design and access statement written on behalf of the church by NJSR Chartered Architects proposes a comprehensive revamp of the building.
The overall aim of the project is the refurbishment and conversion of the Duckworth Essences Building into a place of religious study and worship.
Walking from Cornbrook toward Stretford along Chester Road – which is one half of my Tram Trip to Altrincham
There is a cluster of former industrial buildings around Empress Street.
First up is the Empress Brewery.
The Empress Brewing Company was established by Charles Dawes in c. 1880, although the company was sold to William Henry Fulford in 1884, who had recently sold the Monarch Brewery in Salford. Fulford was based at the Empress Brewery on Clarence Street in Manchester, but had relocated to new premises on 383 Chester Road. These had been built in 1889 and operated initially as the Old Trafford Brewing Company, but the name had changed to the Empress Brewery Company by 1895. The company acquired a number of breweries and associated licenced house during the early 20th century, however, in 1929 it was taken over by Peter Walker and Son. The brewery closed in 1955.
The building was converted into offices in 1992 as part of the development of the Empress Business Centre, which saw new office and business units built to form a courtyard.
Including the Queens Arms on Honey Street Red Bank, one of the first independent real boozers back in the 1980’s, subsequently it has seen various uses last seen on my Collyhurst Circular walk.
The development of the site can be traced from the sequence of Ordnance Survey 1:2500 maps. The First Edition of 1893 shows the site as undeveloped. The First Revision map of 1908 shows 384 Chester Road to have been developed, and the site of the National Works to have been occupied by an open-fronted L-shaped range along the western and southern sides, with a detached rectangular building in a central courtyard. It is possible that these buildings all formed part of 384 Chester Road, listed as being occupied by H, G & O Lewtas, lamp manufacturers, in Slater’s trade directory for 1911. The Second Revision map of 1922 shows the early building to have been subsumed by the current building.
1961 Local Image Collection
Later the home of Lion Foodpackers Ltd and Crimpy Crisps.
Situated on the lower ground floor of a gorgeous, red brick, landmark building, this 2 double bedroom apartment merits further inspection. A good size living room opens on to a good fitted kitchen. It also has a great, spacious shower room. It also benefits from a parking space, although a great attraction is the location, being just 1 mile from Deansgate and the City along with being 10 minutes walk to a Metro station.
Then we have the Veno’s Building, which was once a pharmaceutical company founded by William Henry Veno. He established a company in the US before returning to Britain and founded the Veno drug Company in Manchester in 1898.
In 1925 the company was sold to Beecham Estate and Pills Ltd. In the 60s the building was under the name Progress House and was home to the Co-Operative Press Limited, later to become Trafford Press.
Rare sighting of a Profil aka Stymie Bold Italic hyphen.
Designed by brothers Max and Eugen Lenz and first cast by Haas in 1947.
The front elevation was originally in red brick, with a later faience facade applied.
Veno’s a stalled and cursed development. In 1925 William Henry Veno sold his company for £500,000, a decision he later rued. He sought to enhance his million pound fortune but lost everything through speculative investments and the 1929 Depression. He shot himself at his home during a fit of impulsive insanity.
It was also the home of Germolene, a thick antiseptic ointment with a distinctive pink colour and scented with oil of wintergreen
The pub was open, but the Alan Boyson mural was in need of repair.
The missing panel, stored in the pub’s cellar was subsequently reinstated.
Then, following a Modernist crowdfunding project instigated by Richard Brook and Christopher Marsden, Alice Vincent-Barwood restored the work, during July 2022.
Sadly in August 2023 the pub lost its licence and remains closed.
Wandering from Town to Moston yesterday, I happened to pass by, so I took some photos, here they are:
Martins Bank was a London private bank, trading for much of its time under the symbol of The Grasshopper, that could trace its origins back to Thomas Gresham and the London goldsmiths, from which it developed into a bank known as Martin’s Bank from 1890.[1] That bank was acquired in 1918 by the Bank of Liverpool, which wanted Martins to give it a London presence and a seat on the London Bankers’ Clearing House. The Martin name was retained in the title of the enlarged bank which was known as the Bank of Liverpool and Martins Limited. The title was shortened to Martins Bank Limited, without an apostrophe – in 1928, at the insistence of the directors of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank when it was bought by the Bank of Liverpool and Martins. The head office and managerial control remained firmly in Liverpool, cementing Martins’ place as the only English national bank to have its head office outside London.
Opened in 1961, Martins Bank’s branch at Sheffield Moor is new and purpose built, occupying space left in the Sheffield Moor area by the bombing of the second world war. Time flies however, and more than fifty years on, the building is empty and awaiting the next chapter of its life.
Onwards to 38 Market Street Hyde – photographed as part of my Tameside Moderne book.
Seen here in 1963 – the year of its opening.
The rebuilt branch at 38 Market Street Hyde is typical of the clean lines and minimal fuss of Martins’ 60s rebuilds. After a year or so in temporary premises at 25 Market street it re-opens in 1965, and a year later a smaller but remarkably similar looking branch is completed at Peterborough.
Then last week in Burnley, I stumbled across another former branch, whilst on my Burnley walk – it is currently trading as the Real Food Hall, VaultCinemaandAboveboutique hotel, having previously hosted a variety of retail outlets.
Architect: Mr J E Wadsworth of Samuel Taylor Son & Platt.
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Enjoy top movies in a luxurious former bank vault, featuring high-end design, ultimate comfort, and a selection of premium snacks and beverages.
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Most people will remember Whitsuntide, 1963 as a weekend of blazing sunshine spent by the sea, or on the hills, or golfing, or just sitting in the sun. The staff of the two Burnley branches will remember it as a week-end of evacuation and invasion, Dunkirk and D-Day rolled into a lost weekend, the evacuation of Hargreaves Street and St James Street into the new Manchester Road premises.
Mr Jobling, who had controlled operations throughout, created a record that can never be beaten in working twenty-four hours’ overtime in one day! We welcomed our first customers at 10 o’clock next morning and a civic visit at 11 a.m., not only proud of our lovely building but very proud of and grateful to so many who had never spared themselves to achieve what at one time seemed the impossible.
In service from 3rd June 1963 until 19th June 1991.
Since the last war the uses of fibreglass have developed to such an extent, that there are now companies engaged solely in the manufacture of fibreglass products. Such a company is Carleton Russell Limited whose works at Loughborough. The company makes fibreglass signs and displays and has produced several of our Bank signs. At the time of our visit the finishing touches were being made to the huge sign, seen in the colour photograph below, which now gleams upon customers entering our branch at Digbeth, Birmingham.
Why fibreglass – two of its advantages, lightness and flexibility, have much to recommend it as the material for a wall sign, either inside or outside a building. The Coats of Arms carved in stone which once surmounted the two entrances to our Leeds office, have now given way to fibre-glass reproductions. Weather resistance is another valuable property of these signs and Hove branch, for example, exposed to coastal weather, is saved frequent cleaning and retouching costs by having its external sign made from fibreglass.
In addition to innovative materials, Martins began to employ Modernist Architecture, interiors and design to attract a younger customer base.
Particularly at their branch on 95 Wigmore Street London, where Ernö Goldfinger was commissioned to do away with the old and bring in only the newest of the new.
New office development for Great Portland Estates on Wigmore St. Designed by architects ORMS, 95 Wigmore Street is a new office and retail development by the Great Wigmore Partnership, completed in 2013. The building occupies a prominent site in the West End, between the thriving restaurants and bars on James Street and yards from Selfridges on Duke Street.
Closer to home this is the Fishergate Branch in Preston, opened in August 1965.
Preston branch today is not merely impressive; it is handsome. The entrance porch is of clear glass but the windows are of hand-made tinted glass set in aluminium frames, the counter is of teak, faced with Sicilian marble, and the walls of the main banking office are of wide elm boarding with one large panel of silver grey marble.
The management rooms are lined with cedar of Lebanon against a maple background and hot water coils in the ceilings warm all the office areas. Clearly the transformation has cost a lot of money and even the more humble rooms would not disgrace the London Hilton. Does the Hilton staff kitchen, for example, have built-in teak wall cupboards with magnetised catches?
In the late 1950s, Martins begins to commission works of art that can take pride of place in new branches, and in most cases reflect something of the local area – a kind of giving back to the people. To begin with, this is neither a grand nor hollow gesture, and the character of many a branch is decided by its own unique internal décor and its artwork.
Such as the four elaborate carvings from Newbury Branch, depicting four local activities – Brewing, Weaving, Chasing and Farming.
Bristol Clifton 9a Whiteladies Road – the design depicts various buildings and landmarks in Bristol.
Philippa Threlfall has been making relief murals in ceramic since the 1960s. Together with her husband and partner Kennedy Collings she has completed over one hundred major works on sites all over the United Kingdom and overseas. Some of these were made for private clients, but most were commissioned for display in public situations – shopping precincts, banks, building societies, an airport, hospital and office developments.
Philippa studied Illustration and Ceramics at Cardiff College of Art and went on to qualify as an art teacher at Goldsmiths College London. She taught ceramics and painting part time for six years at North London Collegiate School in Edgware, and during this time began to receive commissions for mural work.
Bournemouth 39 Old Christchurch Road, where sculptor Paul Fletcher’s creation exudes locality and security at the doors of the branch.
Where in the universe have we landed? Is this one of the wobbly sets from the 1960s episodes of Dr Who? Even worse – no need for LSD when paying in your £SD at the new Watford Branch – Bryan & Norman Westwood & Partners, architects 1962.
Ribapix – rear elevation.
The uneven cobbled effect on the floor, clashing with walls that look as if they might close in on you at any minute, must have made for an interesting visit to Watford.
The public space is comparatively dimly lit, with a black ceiling, slate floor and dark-coloured sculptural panels by Eric Peskett placed in echelon so that as you go into the bank the wall appears to be quite solid, but on leaving you see the street through the windows set between the slabs.
The counter top is a solid piece of Afromosia. The floor is of riven Delabole slate. The sculptured slabs between the writing desks have in parts a very smooth shining surface obtained by casting against glass and the insets are rough and dark, they were cast in rubber moulds. The ceiling is roughly textured Pyrok, dark grey in colour and intensely sound-absorbing.
The Architect and Building News – 5 September 1962
Ribapix
And finally – welcome to dystopia 1967 – or Thornaby on TeesBranch, as it is known, an office drowned in its own grey drabness, a real nightmare in concrete. How many people were subject to trudging those awkward walkways with a pram, we can only guess.
The in-house Martins’ magazine and archive may at times, have an ambivalent attitude towards Modernism, I myself, can only admire the optimism and originality, embodied in the work that the bank commissioned.
Many thanks Modern Martins, from thoroughly Modern Mooch.
Once upon many times ago we all went to Belle Vue – formed from John Jennison’s Victorian pleasure gardens and zoo, into an inner city funfair and entertainment extravaganza.
I went to the circus, competed in school sports days, watched the wrestling and music, I still go to the speedway – Belle Vue Aces now racing at the nearby National Speedway Stadium.
Then one day it all fell apart.
In 1979 the amusement park was leased to the main concessionaire, Alf Wadbrooke, although by then it was only open at weekends during the summer season. The long-promised restoration of the Scenic Railway had not happened and the Water Chute had closed. In August 1980, Wadbrooke was given notice to close down the park by 26 October 1980 and to have all his equipment removed by February 1981.
In 1963 the Top Lake, formerly known as the Great Lake, was filled in and a 32-lane ten-pin bowling alley built on its site, just behind the Lake Hotel.
Known as the Belle Vue Granada Bowl, it opened in 1965, advertised as “the north’s leading luxury centre”. In 1983, after the rest of Belle Vue had closed, it was sold to First Leisure Group, and bowling continued for a time.
Wikipedia
The 32-lane Granada Bowl at Belle Vue, Manchester is believed to have been the first centre to be opened by Granada and the centre went on to become one of the most successful in the country.
The centre was equipped with lanes and machines supplied by AMF and the rest of the centre was well appointed with a licensed bar and food operation. The centre was a joint operation between Granada and Belle Vue with two directors from each company on the board of Belle Vue Granada Bowl Limited.
To mark the opening ceremony Lee Kates, with the support of the band of the 8th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment and trumpeters of the Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry, introduced Granada’s Mr Chapman, who made a short speech and welcomed the guests. The golden ball was handed to guest Pat Phoenix, star of the TV soap Coronation Street, to roll the first ball.
Gala Bingo came and went too.
Buzz Bingo have announced plans to close nine of their 91 clubs across the country.
One of those earmarked for closure is the club at Belle Vue. Bosses are blaming the dwindling number of players following the Covid lockdowns as well as the ‘ongoing and challenging operating environment’ of increased energy bills and other costs.
The station was covered by twin train sheds, an architecturally detailed canopy that covered all platforms. In 2000, due to its decaying state, it was removed, changing the nature of the station in a £35 million regeneration project. A new building was built on the main island platform. The Grade II listed original entrance built in the 1880s,including the station buffet and former booking hall, was retained and refurbished.
Facing the station the 2015 development of hotel and office space.
Arriving by train into Blackburn Rail Station, visitors get the full impact of this carefully planned but ambitious regeneration project. Maple Grove’s aspiration was to offer something befitting of a city centre in one of the region’s largest towns. Cathedral Square comprises a six storey BREEAM Excellent office building, designed by BDP, a Premier Inn Hotel, restaurants and cafes positioned around a new public square that acts as a link between the rail station, cathedral and beyond to the shopping centre.
Left onto Jubilee Street where we find the Telephone Exchange.
The site was formerly occupied by the Grand Theatre – in the 1950’s, Blackburn had no fewer than fourteen cinemas. The Grand carried on being a live venue until its closure in 1956, before finally being demolished in 1958.
Further down the road the rear of another former cinema – The Olympia
The Olympia was opened on 19th May 1909 as a roller skating rink. It was a short lived venture and closed in November 1911. It was converted into the Olympia Theatre, presenting music hall/variety, opening on 12th December 1911. Seating was provided for 2,000, many on long wooden benches. The proscenium was 32 feet wide and the stage 50 feet deep. It was soon screening films as part of the programme.
It was converted into a full time cinema in 1921, although there were still some variety acts on the programme. All the original wooden benches used for seating in the theatre were removed and replaced by regular tip-up seats, reducing the seating capacity to 1,360. During the 1940’s, the Olympia Cinema boasted a café for the convenience of its patrons and it was operated by Jacksons’ Amusements, Ltd.
The Olympia Cinema was mainly independently operated, and closed in 1957. It stood empty for two years, then in 1959, it was taken over by Mecca Ltd, and converted into the Locarno Ballroom, later becoming a Mecca Bingo Club. It later became the Golden Palms Nightclub, Jumpin’ Jax, and since 2009 it operated as a trendy nightclub named Liquid & Envy.
Previous to 1900 the site at the corner of Mincing Lane and Mill Lane had housed a temporary circus, known as Ohmy’s Circus. The New Central Hall was built and opened in April 1900, and was used as a roller skating rink until November 1909, when it was converted into the 1,000-seat Central Hall Cinema.
Altered and enlarged to 1,372 seats in 1923, it was re-named New Central Hall Cinema. The proscenium was 20 feet wide, later enlarged to 22 feet.
The Central Cinema was closed in January 1957. Then in 1974, it was renovated and was converted into a Walkers Bingo Club, which remained open until at least 1995. It recently operated as a Riley’s American Pool and Snooker Club until early 2009. In November 2009 after a refurbishment, it re-opened as the VIP Snooker Club.
Turn right into Darwen Street along to the former Barclays Bank.
Next door Lloyd’s Bank extension.
On Astley Gate the brown tiled remains of the Shopping Centre now known as The Mall.
The shopping centre was built in three phases, with the final phase opening in 1979. The centre was refurbished in 1995, during which the lower floor of the former Co-Operative Department Store was transformed into the Ainsworth Mall.
The centre was bought by Standard Life in 1993 and its name was subsequently changed to Blackburn Shopping Centre. Standard Life sold the centre in 2003 to Reit Asset Management.
In 2004, Reit Asset Management sold the centre to The Mall Fund. The centre was sold again in 2022 to the Adhan Group from The Mall Fund for £40 million.
Around the corner the Mother and Child monument, created by Welsh sculptor Robert Thomas in 1974, who used his wife and child as models.
In 1974 the statue was placed in Lord Square, removed in 2007 and placed in storage, it was placed in Cardwell Place in 2012.
The Mall has been significantly remodelled, along with the adjacent Tower Block.
Above the Mall is a dizzying array of multi storey car parks – reflecting the various stages of development.
Next to the Central Library, the former Co-op Emporium by Walter Stirrup in Town Hall Street, opened in 1930, was converted into a £1m library by BDP, it opened on September 1st 1975.
Onward to 10 Duke Street – home to council offices and the NHS, the Tower Block is now no longer in use.
Blackburn’s former town hall tower block has over the years become one of our most recognisable buildings. Sadly it is now starting to be given derogatory names, such as the ‘Big Empty’ and ‘Mothballed Monolith’. But compared to how it looked some years ago, before being reclad in today’s design, it still impresses many visitors to our town. Wouldn’t it be great if Blackburn’s ‘Big Empty’ could become full again.
These tower blocks were the flats at Queens Park and in the background you can see the co-called ‘deck-access’ flats at Shadsworth.
Bowland House was one of three tower blocks built in 1963 and the only one still standing after the others, Ribble and Pendle, were torn down in 2001 to be replaced by homes.
In 2022 Bowland House was refurbished.
Former four-time World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty was the guest of honour as Great Places’ Bowland House in Blackburn was officially unveiled.
Three thirteen-storey slab blocks built as public housing using the Sectra industrialised building system. The blocks contain 183 dwellings in total, consisting of 72 one-bedroom flats and 111 two-bedroom flats. The blocks are of storiform construction clad with precast concrete panels. The panels are faced with exposed white Cornish aggregate. Spandrel panels set with black Shap granite aggregate are used under the gable kitchen windows. The blocks were designed by the Borough architect in association with Sydney Greenwood. Construction was approved by committee in 1966.
1987 view of Birley Street development, with Trinity Court in the foreground: Tower Block
Back now into the centre – passing the now empty site of Thwaites Brewery, demolished in 2019.
Also missing in action is the 1960’s Market Hall – architect Tom Brennan.
The new Bus Station designed by Capita Symonds – replacing the old bus station.
The outward facing elements of the building are flat and orthogonal. In contrast, the underside of the canopy is free flowing and consists of a number of glazed slots cut in the canopy to allow daylight to penetrate onto the concourse area. Directly below each of the slots is a hanging loop which appears to be pulled down from the canopy to reveal a glazed opening. The composition of these draws inspiration from the cotton weaving looms, and drying cotton bundles, a reference to the town’s industrial past.
There are four loop types (A, B, C & D) which are arranged to alter the scale of the concourse and create a rhythm of peaks and troughs along its length. Loop A is designed to provide support to the whole canopy allowing the canopy to appear as one floating unified element.
Newspaper House – once the home to the LancashireTelegraph, converted to apartments in 2017.
Finally to the Garde II* listed BlackburnCathedralchurch – since 1926, formerly parish church, 1820-6 by John Palmer of Manchester.
Central concrete corona by Lawrence King 1961 – it was rebuilt in stone by Brian Lowe in 1998.
The Healing of Nations in steel and copper by Mark Jalland 2001.
It is a reflection on the opening of chapter 22 of the book of Revelation, new Jerusalem, and ‘the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations’.
Traditionally a stained-glass window at the east end of a cathedral would reflect a spectrum of light into the building but this sculpture projects the light out in a kaleidoscope of colour reminding us of Jesus the light of the world and the hope that we have in him.
Annunciation and Christ in Majesty sculptures by Siegfried Pietsch 1965.
This is the result of my two visits to St Clare’s – an urban church which is kept open each day. I urge you to visit as and when you can, you will be rewarded by an uplifting experience – the most refined, calm and spiritual space.
A striking example of post-war church design built for the Franciscans, combining original modern forms and references to historic ecclesiastical architecture. The church predates the Second Vatican Council, and is of traditional basilican plan. Apart from the original sanctuary arrangements, the interior is well preserved, with furnishings of note – the large mosaic over the high altar, depicting St Clare of Assisi raising the Blessed Sacrament by Georg Mayer-Marton, stained glassbyJoseph Nuttgens, Stations of the Cross by David John.
Mayer Marton was also responsible for the fresco and mosaic mural at the Church of the Holy Rosary, Oldham – which is currently under threat.
There is a large west window grid, continued at the base, where it is angled out, to form a canopy over the entrance. Mosaics in this position have been overpainted or lost.
Modern Mooch 