Warrington Walk

Posted on by modernmoocher

It’s a sunny day in May and we begin at Warrington Bank Quay station.

The first Warrington Bank Quay station opened on 4 July 1837.

The station was rebuilt when the line was electrified in 1973, a new power signal box covering an extended area was built east of the station for the electrification.

In 2009 a new entrance hall was completed, with a travel centre/ticket office and a shop.

The buffet on the London bound platforms was modernised.

Wikipedia

The station was once operated on a split level.

Next onwards to the Pyramid Arts extension 2002, a reworking by Studio BAAD of the former County Court and Inland Revenue Offices 1897-8 by Sir Henry Tanner.

Studio BAAD Ltd started winding up proceedings for a Creditors Voluntary Liquidation in April 2021 and the company was dissolved on 21 July 2021

The centre is currently closed – work began on the redevelopment, which has been funded by a £5 million grant from the Government, in July 2024.

The project aims to make the building more modern, accessible and fit for the future.

The redevelopment includes the addition of a new café and bar area while the Exhibition Hall will become a bigger capacity venue.

Across the way the Masonic Hall 1932-33 Albert Warburton.

Further along to Hilden House a former Department of Works and Pension building, currently undergoing a transformation into a residential block.

The £18m office to residential reset of the 52,400 sq ft building will offer a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments in plans now approved by the local authority.

Caro Developments, working in tandem with architect Falconer Chester Hall, hopes to start construction later this year.

According to a planning statement submitted on the developer’s behalf by Savills, once complete, the five-storey block will offer residents a concierge service, a gym and wellness facility, a resident’s lounge, and a co-working area.

Place North West 2025

Way out of period but a notable Warrington landmark are the Golden Gates designed in 1862.

The gates were made for the International Exhibition of 1862, and then intended for Queen Victoria’s Sandringham home in Norfolk. Coalbrookdale found it hard to find a buyer for such grand gates, so Frederick Monks, one of the town’s earliest councillors, was able to buy and bring them to Warrington to stand at the front of the town hall lawn.  Monks also presented the cast iron Cromwell statue, designed by John Bell, to Warrington in 1899.

Warrington Gov

The Golden Gates are Grade II* Listed, along with the gate piers and the lamps which line the driveways at either side of the town hall

Up the road now to the Soap Works – first views from across the railway tracks.

Then over the bridge.

Joseph Crosfield was born in Warrington, the fourth son of George Crosfield and his wife Ann née Key. In 1814, Joseph’s apprenticeship having finished, at the age of 21 he decided to establish his own soap making business in Warrington.

In 1911 the company was purchased by Brunner, Mond & Company and 1919 it was absorbed into Lever Brothers. From 1929 Crosfield was a subsidiary of Unilever. In 1997 its Warrington speciality chemicals division that made ingredients for detergents and toothpastes was acquired by ICI and in 2001, Ineos Capital purchased the company. The name Crosfield was finally lost as it was renamed Ineos Silicas. In 2008 Ineos Silicas was merged with PQ Corporation, with the new company retaining the name of PQ Corporation.

Wikipedia

The Crosfield’s factory closed for good in October 2020.

Dante FS Group formally acquired four acres of the site this month for an undisclosed fee from EcoVyst.

The latter firm will continue to operate from sections of the site, as will PQ Corporation, with Dante buying land closest to the train station, including the visible blue buildings and white Unilever tanks.

Renamed Platform at Bank Quay, the ‘next-generation, state-of-the-art modular data centre’ is ‘set to power the UK’s growing AI economy’ and bring high-tech jobs to the town.

Warrington Guardian

Across the way the Scared Heart RC Church 1894 Sinnott Sinnott and Powell.

Listed Grade II

We now approach the Pink Eye roundabout where we may view the Pink Eye Silo.

Middle right this Aero Photo of 1928 shows a much larger mill complex.

Also the site of an older bridge – later replaced by a pipe carrying structure.

We then follow the riverside green line path twixt Soap works and Mersey, heading toward the Transporter Bridge.

The route explained by the indispensable Friends of the Warrington Transporter Bridge.

Warrington Transporter Bridge aka Bank Quay Transporter Bridge or Crosfield’s Transporter Bridge across the River Mersey is a structural steel transporter bridge with a span of 200 feet.

It is 30 feet wide and 76 feet above high water level, with an overall length of 339 feet.

It was commissioned in 1916 and, although it has been out of use since about 1964, it is still standing. It was designed by William Henry Hunter and built by William Arrol and Co.

The Transporter Bridge was built to despatch finished product from the cement plant that had been built on the peninsula. It was originally designed to carry rail vehicles up to eighteen tons loaded weight.

The bridge was converted for road vehicles in 1940, and was certified to carry loads of up to thirty tons in 1953.

FOTWTB

This was my first visit in 2017 – recorded on Modern Mooch.

Highlight on any day out anywhere is the discovery of arcane British Rail typography.

There’s a brief history of Freightliner history right here.

Back now to Bank Quay and off to the Telephone Exchange.

This is the 1969 building designed by the MODBW, Reginald Norman Dixon with lead architect P Clinton.

Linked to the 1955 building designed by John Onslow Stevens.

Biggest thanks to Lisa Kinch who can be found over on Instagram, for all her informative research into telephone exchanges.

Toward the town centre and we pass the Bold Street Methodists Church – 1973-75.

Currently closed and for sale.

Thence to the Block 1 nightclub.

Medicine night club early 2000s.

Originally a Tetley’s house named The Woolpack.

Got served my first pint in there, I was only 14.

Karl Beckett

Coming down those stairs, I slipped and the heel came off my boot, I’d only had one drink – loved those boots.

Sue Duncan

This was the original Woolpack on the site.

Much of the town centre is dominated by the Golden Square shopping centre.

Designed in 1974 by Ardin and Brookes and Partners, since enlarged.

There is also extensive pedestrianisation and hard landscaping on the surrounding streets, carried out in 2002 by Landscape Design Associates with sculptural works by Howard Ben Tre.

Finally to the Bus Station which used to look like this:

Until it became an Interchange and looks a lot like this.

Warrington’s new bus interchange was opened on 21 August 2006. From 1979, bus users travelled from a facility on Golborne Street, but it was very unpopular due to its very dreary appearance. 

On The Buses.

Though the final word must go to an absent friend.

Where once the New Town House stood.

Built in 1976 to house the Warrington & Runcorn Development Corporation.

Visited by myself the Modern Mooch in 2021

Nobody actually likes brutalist buildings. 

They just pretend to like them to make themselves look cool, it’s like craft beer and food that comes in tiny portions.

Barnsley Co-op

Posted on by modernmoocher

Having previously visited Barnsley to construct a Barnsley Walk, I returned to take the Modernists on the walk.

Previously puzzled by this mosaic clad Festival of Britain facade.

Subsequent observation and research revealed it to be an extension to a group of Barnsley Co-operative buildings.

I should have noted that the building of 1910, was the work of architect Arthur Walshingham, the terracotta and green faience, very much in the style of Northmoor Road.

And also his work here in Pendleton.

According to author Lynn Pearson:

The building housed grocery and footwear shops, an elegant marble floored entrance hall, a restaurant and assembly room. Its original shopfronts were mahogany with metal sills on a granite base, the windows were divided by columns with green faience shafts.

England’s Cooperative movement – an Architectural History.

The Barnsley building is loaded with decorative details.

Sadly the columns mentioned above were replaced, the mosaic from the later extension extended to give a misplaced sense of cohesion to the pairing.

The extension has a charm of its own – with an upper tier terrace bordered by a metal fence.

A concrete relief to the side.

The adjacent buildings were the 1885 central offices of the Barnsley British Cooperative Society.

The building is Grade II Listed.

In 2016 the Barnsley British Co-operative building, sited opposite the existing buildings, suffered a large fire and unfortunately had to be demolished due to safety concerns.

For more than a century it had been considered the place to shop in town. Many will recall it as the Co-op’s toy department where, every year, excited children would queue with mums and dads to meet Santa in his grotto at Christmas.

It closed in the 1980s.

In 1993 the plan was to turn the imposing Victorian Grade II listed building into a ’high class’ venue which it was anticipated would be aimed at a clientele in the 25-plus age group.

Barnsley Chronicle.

Walsall Walk

Posted on by modernmoocher

The name Walsall is derived from Walh halh, meaning valley of the Welsh, referring to the British who first lived in the area. Later, it is believed that a manor was held here by William FitzAnsculf, who held numerous manors in the Midlands. By the first part of the 13th century, Walsall was a small market town with a manor house; the weekly market was introduced in 1220 and held on Tuesdays. The mayor of Walsall was created as a political position in the 14th century.

Significant developments also took place nearer to the town centre, particularly during the 1960s when a host of tower blocks were built around the town centre; however, most of these had been demolished by 2010.

The Memorial Gardens opened in 1952, in honour of the town’s fallen combatants of the two world wars. The Old Square Shopping Centre, a modern indoor shopping complex featuring many big retail names, opened in 1969.

Much of the reconstruction of the post-war period was quickly reconsidered as ugly and having blighted the town. In 1959, John Betjeman advised that with sensitive restoration the old buildings of the High Street could become:

One of the most attractive streets in England.

Instead, almost every building was demolished.

Wikipedia

There is to be further demolition on the High Street, to open up the vista between the Bus and Railway stations.

In 2021 Walsall secured funding of £11.4m from the Future High Street Fund. With further investment from Walsall Council we are now delivering the early phases of the Town Centre Masterplan, through the Walsall Connected Gateway Project.

Walsall Gov UK

Approval has been granted to remodel the Saddlers Centre to create a more open and attractive arrival experience for train passengers whilst also opening up Park Street. Butler’s Passage, which has in the past been the centre of antisocial behaviour, will disappear as some of the buildings are removed to create a large open walkway, connecting the rail and bus hubs.

Former Railway station 4th March 1978 – photo by Walsall 1955

The station was about to be closed, demolished and replaced by a new Marks & Spencers and the Saddlers Centre.

The existing entrance to the railway station on Station Street.

Let’s begin at the St Paul’s bus station or Hub – if you will, complete in September 2000.

The 1936 St Pauls Street bus station closed in February 1975, and was completely demolished, rebuilt and opened in August 1975.

Photo by: Walsall 1955

Allford Hall Monaghan Morris designed the building for Centro. The structural engineers were Atelier One, Shepherd Construction Ltd were the contractors, Watkins Dally were the landscape architects and Clark Smith Partnership were the civil engineers. 

The project cost £6.5 million.

Wikipedia

Next, a glimpse of Hatherton Road multi-storey car park.

Though it appears to be closed.

Adjacent to Enoch Evans Solicitors, their offices housed in one of the many imperious inter-war buildings dotted around the town.

Which faces onto the back of the Civic Centre.

Following the formation of the Metropolitan Borough, the new Civic Centre in Darwall Street opened in 1976, architect Stanley W Bradford Walsall MBC Director of Architecture.

Central roof garden.

Leaving the Civic Quarter on the left is the Imperial

The Imperial started life as an agricultural hall, constructed in 1868-69, and designed by the architect GB Nichols of West Bromwich. At that time, it was used for a variety of community activities including shows and dancing, it was also hired out to travelling film showmen. The main feature of the early building was a principal ground floor hall.

In June 1914, the Imperial was closed to allow for conversion to a cinema, designed by West Midlands-based architects Hickton & Farmer.

The Imperial was converted to a bingo club in 1968, and in 1996 it was converted into a pub, which closed in 2016.

Theatre Trust

Next to the TSB Bank.

At the end of the otherwise period correct Victorian Arcade is a space age Pound Bakery.

Across the way a former Barclays Bank architects: John HD Madin & Partners.

Next door an anomalous disco themed fascia.

From here up the hill to the Old Square.

Sainsbury’s Old Square store in the early 1970s photo Will Parker.

The majority of the Shopping Centre was demolished in 2014.

I remember when I was about fifteen in 1990, Coca-Cola were doing these yo-yos and if you went upstairs by the cafe, I think it was you could earn a gold coloured yo-yo. You just had to perform three tricks with it to earn one. I did walk the dog, the sleeper and I think it was around the world! Proud as punch with that I was. I know my uncle was Father Christmas for a few years on the bounce as well, when they used to have a grotto. 

Dan Bracknall

These are the remnants.

Ascending to the dizzy heights of the Grade II Listed Memorial Gardens 1953 by Geoffrey Jellicoe designed as a memorial to the dead of the two World Wars and said to mark a significant stage in the evolution of his principles of design.

Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe was one of the century’s greatest landscape architects. His contribution to landscape design has been described as equal to the 18th-century gardener Capability Brown. He was educated at Cheltenham College and then trained to be an architect at the Architectural Association. It was while at the AA that his interest in landscape was first kindled.  

The second phase, comprising the building of the memorial chapel in the Memorial Garden, and the flats and Brotherhood or Church Hall to the south of the open space known as St Matthew’s Close, was completed c 1960

Photo: History of Walsall

Historic England

Of back down the hill onward to the Walsall School of Art.

Walsall’s art school’s history is a story of gradual growth and change, evolving from evening classes in a chapel to a modern art college. The Walsall School of Design and Ornamental Art, founded in 1854 as an evening class, operated from 1861 at the Goodall Street Baptist Chapel and eventually became the Walsall College of Art. 

To celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, the Walsall Science and Art Institute was opened in 1888 at Bradford Place. In 1897, it was transferred to the Town Council and renamed the Walsall Municipal Science & Art Institute. In 1926, the institute was renamed Walsall Technical College. Post-war demand led to the establishment of the Walsall and Staffordshire Technical College at Wisemore – now St Paul’s Street, in 1952. The Walsall College of Art officially merged with the College of Technology in 1992 to form Walsall College of Arts and Technology – now simply Walsall College. The college maintains strong historical ties to local industries, such as the leather trade.

Artbiogs

Further on there’s an enormous Telephone Exchange comprising fifties and seventies buildings.

Across the way a large system built block on a podium base.

Standing on the corner where it has always stood the Silver Knight Garage.

Heading back into the town centre, picking up on there’s a former Woolworths that looks like a Burton’s that thinks it’s a Barclays Bank, and also improbably a Swag King.

1933 by FW Woolworth Construction Dept – H Wimbourne

Next an indeterminate infill with pale blue panels and central pivoting metal window frames, soon to be demolished along with its neighbours, as part of the Connected Gateway Project.

Possibly a former BHS – known as Jacey House.

Next up Park Place.

Ai says – notable features include Park Place Meats – a town centre butcher, and Park Place Shoe Repairs, which offers engraving and key-cutting services.

A Post Modern Poundland.

And last but not least a thoroughly Modern New Art Gallery.

Caruso St John Architects 1997-2000

John Wherritt – Scarborough

Posted on by modernmoocher

J H Wherritt is a cherished gift shop located at 5-7 Eastborough in the heart of Scarborough. Known as a hidden gem and a fantastic treasure trove by visitors, this highly-rated establishment boasts an impressive 5/5 stars from numerous positive reviews. It’s the perfect place to discover a diverse range of gifts, souvenirs, toys, watches, and clocks, catering to all tastes and ages.

Customers consistently praise the shop for its extensive selection of goods, often finding unique items that are not widely available elsewhere. The dedicated team at J H Wherritt is renowned for being lovely, kind, helpful, and obliging, ensuring a pleasant and satisfying shopping experience for everyone. Visitors frequently highlight the reasonable prices and excellent value offered on all purchases.

Yorkshire.com

From being a very young youngster I have always adored the seaside souvenir shops. The dazzling array of knick-knacks and gee gaws, and Wherritt’s truly merits the sobriquet Aladdin’s Cave.

Sadly the shop is now for sale:

•Business & stock available by separate negotiation

•Upper floors in need of major refurbishment

• Very inviting shop frontage with 2 entrance doors

•Shop located on busy tourist route

Guide price £175,000

We can only hope that whosoever takes the business on will maintain the wide range of stock and friendly welcome.

Night on Earth – Stockport

Posted on by modernmoocher

I have always admired feature films shot at night – particularly Jules Dassin’s Night and the City

Along with Jim Jarmusch’s Night On Earth – so I stole the title and graphics for my photographs.

They were all taken within walking distance of my home in Norris Bank in September 2014.

Subsequently shown at Room at the Top in Stockport at the behest of John Cox.

I set out as the sun began to set, equipped with a tripod and a Nikon D70.

The town was largely unpopulated – save for this lone figure sat sitting on a bench outside Greggs.

Gregg’s has subsequently doubled in size, consuming Baps, Gabbotts Farm has become Sterling Foods.

Along with these two lads sat on the Plaza Steps.

And finally, this ghostly figure – who stood before me during the long exposure required, enquiring about what I was up to.

A chance encounter beneath the Asda car park ramp.

Once I had satiated her nascent curiosity, I continued unabashed with my nocturnal snapping.

This is where I went and that which I snapped.

Stockport Viaduct is still extant, Heaton Lane Car Park is no longer.

The car park at Stopford House.

One of the ninety eight bus shelters on the 192 route.

Merseyway Shopping Centre

Beneath Heron House.

My local The Magnet – I am proud to say that a copy of this photo hangs in the pub’s Vault.

My vast favourite concrete footbridge.

Covent Garden Flats are no more, social housing replaced by owner occupiers.

The Bus Station has since become a Transport Interchange.

And finally, as local lad Mike Yarwood was wont to say – This is me.

Impersonating myself in the manner of Flann O’Brien’s literary creation De Selby

Dockland Liverpool

Posted on by modernmoocher

1928

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.

Wikipedia

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.

It looks like this.

Kingsway Tunnel Vents

Victoria Tower

Merseyside Food Products

Tate & Lyle Sugar Silo

Walking From Rhyl To Colwyn

Posted on by modernmoocher

Previously on Modern Mooch.

My last words on my last North Wales post were:

Time for the train home to Stockport – but you can bet I’ll be back.

And true to my word I have been back, several times – on this occasion alone and on foot.

An almost overcast mid-grey day in November, alighting at Rhyl Station and loafing along to Colwyn Bay – this what I done seen.

1907

Former Bee and Station Hotel immediately opposite the Station.

The Bee and Station Hotel was built in the 1860s. The decorative tile work of the exterior was probably added during remodelling c.1890. Inside, the lobby is also richly decorated with brightly coloured tiling. The building was listed in 1991 as an excellent example of pub of the late 19th century with a complete tiled frontage and a rare surviving internal layout throughout.

The pub closed in 2005. The building reopened in 2013 after being refurbished and given a modern extension by Denbighshire County Council, under the Townscape Heritage Initiative, to provide new offices for small businesses

History Points

Onward to the seafront, home to the defunct Skytower.

The tower first operated at the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival, where it was known as the Clydesdale Bank Tower and was opened by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Following the festival, it was dismantled and reassembled on the Rhyl seafront.

The tower last operated in 2010. The following year, a safety report found that £400,000 worth of repairs were required to keep the ride operational. After standing but not operating for seven years, in 2017 work was carried out to turn the tower into a beacon.

Photo – GA Stephen ©

Much has been done to improve the promenade, with sumptuous hard landscaping, coastal defences and seafront shelters.

The £66m Central Rhyl Coastal Defences Scheme will protect almost 600 properties in Rhyl from flooding and coastal erosion for decades to come.

85% of the construction costs have been funded by the Welsh Government, with the Deputy First Minister labelling the project a ‘significant milestone’ in efforts to protect Welsh communities from the growing threats of climate change. Denbighshire County Council contributed the remaining 15%.

Gov. Wales

Over the estuary to Rhyl Harbour home to Doris Day.

Rhyl Harbour is located on the spectacular North Wales Coast and has undergone a dramatic refurbishment which has hugely improved the facilities on offer. The original timber yard which was used by sailing ships up until the Second World War, has been redeveloped and now offers storage for over 150 boats.

Denbighshire Gov UK

The foreshore home from home for thousands of caravan dwellers.

Golden Sands Holiday Park Rhyl has over 85 years history of fun filled holidays. Wonderfully located right next to the beach in Kinmel Bay in North Wales, it’s the perfect place for a family seaside holiday. It’s also an excellent base for exploring the beauty of North Wales. The town of Rhyl is closest, though also nearby are Prestatyn, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno – with the Great Orme. Blue Flag beaches offering wonderful seaside holiday traditions along with stunning Snowdonia National Park are within an easy drive.

Hoseasons

This is not food for thought, or is it?

Fast food is often nutritionally poor and high in calories. Evidence demonstrates that overeating commercial fast food products can negatively impact health in both the short and long term.

However:

Baysville is lovely and clean, lots of tables and a good choice of foods from ice cream, donuts, burgers, hot and cold drinks and a bar. The staff are pleasant and welcoming.

Christinecupcake

I am unaware of the effects, negative or otherwise, concerning overexposure to Frothy Coffee.

I love this place, what an amazing way to spend a day, having the best cappuccino I’ve ever tasted while taking in the sea air.

Lovely lady, amazing prices, brilliant with my son that has autism.

Anna S

Researchers have found people who drink up to three cups of coffee a day could have a healthier heart and a lower risk of dying of any cause.

But too much caffeine can produce anxiety, sleeplessness, agitation, palpitations, diarrhoea and restlessness. In individuals with a mental health condition caffeine can worsen psychosis and result in the need for higher amounts of medication.

Possibly wiser to take a leisurely ride on your electric bicycle, followed by an hour or two of beach casting .

The coastal housing at Kinmel bay is undergoing a cosmetic upheaval, the determinedly down home bungalow swamped by the relentless monotone tide of home improvements.

The Sandy Cove Estate consists of 250 bungalows that were built in the 1930s by the Kinmel Estates Ltd, who sadly went into liquidation around 1947, before the estate was completed. This left the estate with only dirt tracks for roads with no sidewalks or pavements, no drainage for surface water or any adequate street lighting. After the liquidation of the company the roads and communal greens were escheated to the Crown who then offered the land free of charge to successive Councils for the to incorperate into the towns that were developing. This was refused by the Councils.

Sandy Cove

Fifty or more homes are ready for you to choose from, gardens and tennis courts have been provided for the sole use, in perpetuity of residents.

Onward now to Towyn.

The town made national headlines in 1990 when a combination of gale-force winds, a high tide and rough seas caused Towyn’s flood defences to be breached at about 11.00am on 26 February. 4 square miles of land was flooded, affecting 2,800 properties and causing areas of the resort to be evacuated. Further flooding occurred later the same week, on 1 March, shortly after the site of the disaster was visited by Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

Scientific experts also believe that the silt left behind from the flooding had left the town with a higher concentration of radioactivity, over ten times the governmental safety limits, most likely originating from the nuclear processing plant at Sellafield which had been dispersed into the Irish Sea over many years since its construction. The National Radiological Protection Board stated that there was a “small risk” to the people there, while the Welsh Office claimed there was no danger to the public. The coastal defences have since been reconstructed and significantly enhanced.

Wikipedia

The People of the First Nation here at Knightly’s Fun Park are now safe from the threat of flood.

Knightly’s Funfair has a fantastic range of rides for the whole family! Experience high speed thrills and heart pumping excitement! We’ve got rides for the little ones too as well as games and food stalls to keep the whole family entertained all day!

We also welcome dogs, so you don’t have to leave your furry friends behind!

The monotone gentrified home is accompanied by the monotone SUV – the Land Rover Discovery Sport.

The joy of Discovery Sport is in finding that no adventure is out of reach. Offering the ultimate in comfort, while having the toughness to cope with family life.

All yours for from £43,195

Land Rover UK

According to a Europe-wide study, which included the UK, when vehicles are 300kg heavier, the risk of fatal injuries is 30% higher for vulnerable road users.

Pedestrians and cyclists are also 30% more likely to be killed if they’re hit by a car with a bonnet that’s 10cm higher than average.

My Green Pod

Think again Ann.

E25 is Spirulina Extract Phycocyanin, when taken as directed, Spirulina generally doesn’t cause side effects. In some people, it may cause mild side effects, including headaches, diarrhoea, bloating and gas.

Here we are now at Abergele and Pensarn which have quiet sandy beaches close to historic sites and wooded hills. From here, you can escape the stresses of everyday life. Enjoy sea views, historic places such as Gwrych Castle – home to ITV’s I’m a Celebrity 2020 and 2021 TV series, and a range of things to do providing fun for all the family.

Visit Conwy

We are open seven days a week, cafe, arcade, crazy golf from 10am and bingo from midday. 

Surfside Amusements

Pensarn Pleasure Beach Amusement Arcade, operated by Laurence Williams Amusements, offers a charming family-friendly experience. Visitors often highlight its nostalgic appeal with fun penny machines and small shops selling drinks and handmade goods.

While many appreciate the charm of the arcade, some mention that certain machines are quite dated and do not work properly, this aspect may affect overall enjoyment for some users.

The reviews indicate a good variety of activities including classic penny slots and local shops offering food and unique handmade items like dog harnesses, catering to diverse interests.

Such a pleasant stretch of coast to stretch your legs along.

Or to stretch your wings for that matter, should you happen to be a cormorant.

Coastal defences from the giant concrete bobbers and jacks.

A tetrapod is a form of wave-dissipating concrete block used to prevent erosion caused by weather and longshore drift, primarily to enforce coastal structures such as seawalls and breakwaters. Tetrapods are made of concrete, and use a tetrahedral shape to dissipate the force of incoming waves by allowing water to flow around rather than against them, and to reduce displacement by interlocking.

Tetrapods were originally developed in 1950 by Pierre Danel and Paul Anglès d’Auriac of Laboratoire Dauphinois d’Hydraulique in Grenoble,who received a patent for the design. The French invention was named tétrapode, derived from Greek tetra ‘four’ and pode ‘foot’.

Tetrapods were first used at the thermal power station in Roches Noires in Casablanca, to protect the sea water intake.

Wikipedia

Next we pass Raynes Jetty the quarry conveyor belt – shifting and shipping limestone out to sea.

Limestone from Raynes quarry, to the south, is transported by conveyor belts to the jetty, crossing the A55 Expressway and railway. From the jetty it is loaded into coastal freighters which take it to other parts of the British Isles. Limestone from this quarry is a pure form of the rock, making it ideal for the chemical and cement industries.

History Points

Limestone forming an important constituent part of the nearby concrete Rainbow Bridge – linking Old Colwyn’s pedestrians to the shore.

On the site of Colwyn Bay Pier is a seriously truncated pier.

It was conceived in the late 19th century, when Colwyn Bay wanted to catch up with other towns which had piers where steamers deposited and collected passengers. However, it was found that the proposed pier would have to extend almost half a mile to reach the area where the water was deep enough for ships. This was too costly, so the pier was built purely for entertainments. The councillors saved face by saying this would avoid day trippers arriving by steamer and lowering the tone of Colwyn Bay!

The pier was less than 100 metres long when it opened in 1900. The pavilion had a 2,500-seat theatre, shops and a restaurant. The opening performance featured Adelina Patti, one of the world’s most renowned operatic sopranos in her day.

The final pavilion, opened in 1934, incorporated Art Deco features and murals by Eric Ravilious and Mary Adshead.

Both walls of the last remaining Eric Ravilious mural have been successfully removed, and were placed safely in storage. But with CCBC staff set to relocate to new Colwyn Bay offices a more permanent home is needed for the murals.

North Wales Pioneer

Fish sketch for the Colwyn Bay Mural.

Many of those features were destroyed or obscured in post-war refurbishments. Entertainers who performed at the pier in this period included comedians Ken Dodd and Morecambe and Wise, and singers Harry Secombe and Elvis Costello.

History Points

The promenade has recently been updated.

The new promenade, measuring 2.3 miles long, has been designed to protect the town and its infrastructure from the effects of the sea. The project was split into two phases; the first, to remove what was originally there and to construct the new raised promenade including a road, cycleway and car parking. The second phase was to transform the promenade with further development as well as reinforce the defence structures.

BSFG

This is the last of the Sixties concrete shelters – which once stretched all the way to Rhos on Sea.

New shelters have appeared

A Conwy County Borough Council spokesperson said:

The shelters include new features such as solar power lighting and are designed to be accessible for wheelchair and mobility scooter users.

The closed design of the old shelters made anti-social behaviour easier and led to their condition deteriorating.

And a new pier has appeared.

Construction on the new Pier at Colwyn Bay commenced in July 2020. Despite being initially slated for completion in the summer, the erection of scaffolding and subsequent work on the 45-meter truncated Colwyn Bay pier were delayed. However, the project timeline was expedited, and the construction was successfully finished in July 2021.

Pier Bae Colwyn

At this point it began to rain – so I hastened to see solace and shelter in the Black Cloak, again.

Time for the train home to Stockport – but you can bet I’ll be back.

Brunswick Estate – History

Posted on by modernmoocher

1813

1836

1900

2025

Manchester Historical Maps

I was walking around town, with a view to updating my Ardwick Walk.

Idle curiosity took me toward the Brunswick Estate – that pocket of housing nestle twixt the Mancunian Way/River Medlock, Ardwick Green, Brunswick Street and Upper Brook Street.

A subset of the greater set of Chorlton on Medlock.

Back in 1813, a web of streets and enclosed fields, and more fields, along with small groups of higher status housing, but by the early 20th century it was very much a working class district, within which industry began to grow.

The population of Manchester expanded unstoppably throughout the nineteenth century.

Here’s a personal and insightful family history of the area, along with a broader history from the Evening News.

Extensive slum clearance in the nineteen sixties saw the area and its street names change, some erased forever in the new build.

In Manchester, in a vast belt immediately outside the central area of the city, there still exist all too many remnants of a planless, knotted chaos of dark, dismal and crumbling homes. Many of these crossed the verge of uninhabit-ableness long before their most elderly inhabitants were born.

Alfred Morris MP 1965

As recorded by photographer Roger Shelley.

Brunswick Street 1904.

Mancroft Walk W Higham 1969

St Paul’s and St Luke’s Brunswick Street W Higham 1970

Lamport Court W Higham 1970

One of three nine-storey blocks, containing two hundred and nineteen dwellings; also including Silkin Court and Lockton Court.

Litcham Close W Higham 1970

Harry Milligan 1903 – 1986 worked as the photographer at Manchester Central Library until his retirement in around 1968. He was instrumental in setting up the Manchester Region Industrial Archaeology Society in 1965. He volunteered at the North Western Museum of Science and Industry from 1968, assisting with reprographics requests. His knowledge of the history of photography in Manchester and the UK led to him taking on the role of Honorary Curator of Photography at the museum.

These are his photographs taken from the Manchester Local Image Collection.

Panorama of Brunswick with UMIST in the background.

Hanworth Close area terraced housing and flats 1972.

Staverton Close

Melcroft Close

Wadeson Road

Helmshore Walk – Skerry Close

Cherryton Walk

Cray Walk

Wadeson Road

Hanworth Close

Pedley Walk

Cray Walk – note the decorative brick relief

King William IV

Former Chesters then Whitbread estate pub was built in 1967. Closed in 1996 when it was converted to residential property. It had a brief spell 1991 to 1995 as brewery premises for the Dobbin’s West Coast Brewery, during this period the interior was stripped out to accommodate the brewery paraphernalia.

As a companion to the radical reshaping of Manchester see also All Saints, plus look around Brunswick Parish Church, close by the lost terrace of Hartfield Close.

In addition the Brunswick Street Launderette.

Ardwick Walk Again

Posted on by modernmoocher

1824

1904

2025

Previously in February 2022 I walked the fair streets of Ardwick.

Three and a bit years on it was time to see what had been coming and going on.

The Central Manchester Primary Substation on Travis Street is still there.

The building was cladded with a COR-TEN® steel envelope, the nature of which was relatively complex.

Corten steel sets itself apart due to the inclusion of unique alloying elements: chromium, nickel, copper and added phosphorous which gives the steel its self-protecting properties.

Architect: Walker Simpson

Immediately adjacent are Platforms Thirteen and Fourteen, bridged over the roadway by this vast concrete construction.

Platform 14 is primitive, I understand totally from an infrastructure standpoint because it’s on a bypass line on a bridge, but it gets too overcrowded and is windswept. The rest of the station is ok. Platforms 13/14 have not changed in 40 years, grim.

We the pass to the former BT Building – architects JW Hammond 1973.

Originally conceived as a hotel, there were no takers at the time, so it became the BT HQ.

Currently Marriot Hotel Piccadilly

Comprising 338 rooms, Manchester Marriott Hotel Piccadilly is near a shopping district, a 10-minute ride from Etihad Stadium. Offering a location right in the centre of a beautiful neighbourhood, this comfortable hotel boasts a lounge bar along with city views.

It is supported on the most magnificent piloti.

Over the road the Holloway Wall 1968 – Grade II listed but its remodelling is in the air.

The developer’s architects now propose to ‘reimagine’ the artwork and incorporate it into the foyer of the new office building. However, this ‘reimagining’ requires large sections of the artwork to be removed by cutting away and ‘folding’ around 30% of the sculpture.

Modernist

The remainder of the UMIST site is also under threat – only the Renold Building is listed and to be retained intact.

Lecture Theatre, along with the Maths and Sciences Building.

Seen here under construction before the arrival of the Mancunian Way extension.

The Mancunian Way extension opened in 1992.

From beneath the roadway we can see the Ferranti Building.

Crossing over to see the Brunswick Estate, built in the Sixties and Seventies and recently refurbished.

S4B is a partnership leading the £106m regeneration of Brunswick, Manchester. The Brunswick Regeneration PFI is a combination of government funding, private investment and expertise that will revitalise Brunswick. Improvements will include council home refurbishments, new homes for sale and to rent and an improved neighbourhood design.

Pro Manchester

Long gone lost estate pub from the estate – King William IV a former Chesters then Whitbread estate pub was built in 1967. Closed in 1996 when it was converted to residential property. It had a brief spell 1991 to 1995 as brewery premises for the Dobbin’s West Coast Brewery, during this period the interior was stripped out to accommodate the brewery paraphernalia.

We take a jog around the block to see the concrete relief that clads the road ramp.

Where there was once a giant Cooperative Store there is now a light industrial and retail estate.

And the Honey Bear Discounter has become Spirit Studios.

And the Barracks has become the Fabric Church.

The Diocese of Manchester has been working in partnership with the Church Revitalisation Trust to open Fabric Church and refurbish the building, following a successful bid to the Church of England’s Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board.

We’re excited to be working alongside Fabric Church on the transformation of the Grade II listed former Ardwick Barracks in Manchester. This ambitious refurbishment project will see the historic site reimagined as a vibrant community hub, featuring a new worship hall, community café, offices, meeting spaces, and more.

Hexaconsulting

Alongside Ardwick Green Park there are new housing developments nearing completion.

Ardwick Green combines contemporary design with great light infused spaces, offering stylish homes with a modern twist, private parking, outdoor spaces and a welcoming community atmosphere an urban retreat that truly feels like home.

With the city just moments away, living at Ardwick Green will give homeowners easy access to Manchester City Centre and beyond with its vibrant social scene, bustling business landscape and extensive transport network on your doorstep. 

Step Places

The area is home to a mixed and mongrel bunch of homes.

Though these interwar flats, seen here in 1956, are now long gone.

Within the park is a glacial erratic, which arrived following the Last Glacial Period .

Without which much of what we understand as the modern age would possibly not now exist.

It appears to be green slate from the Lake District, the native underlying rock in this part of Manchester is a red sandstone.

Postcard of 1906

The Apollo of course prevails. – seen here in 1958

Architects: Peter Cummings Alex M Irvine

Opened on 29th August 1938 the interior decorations were carried out by noted interior designers Mollo & Egan with the Holophane lighting designed by R Gillespie Williams.

This Sixties municipal building remains a mystery.

Actor Harry H Corbett visiting his childhood area in 1969, he lived on Earl Street and later in Wythenshawe.

Peterlee Town Centre

Posted on by modernmoocher

Once more to Peterlee having posted posts on the Apollo Pavillion, housing and housing history.

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.

Peterlee History

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.

Northern Echo

To the right is the Eden Bar and Vibe.

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.

Chronicle Live

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.

Sunderland Echo

The rear rotunda is now a derelict shell.

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. 

Sunderland Echo

© Lynda Golightly / Art UK

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.

Northern Echo

Clean-up campaigner Tidy Ted and Peterlee Mayor Councillor John Dickinson were helping youngsters to tidy up in the Peterlee Dene area in 1989.

Where are they now – when we need them most?

Stafford Walk

Posted on by modernmoocher

To begin at the beginning – we arrive at Stafford Railway Station.

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.

Illustration: John Greene

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.

Ellis Williams

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. 

Glancy Nicholls

On the corner a Santander Bank

Across the way an understated Burton’s.

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’.

3D Reid

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.

Harris Partnership

Stafford’s £100 million Riverside development was officially launching today with two high street chains open for business on August 4th 2016.

None of this can detract from the monolithic complex Telephone Exchange.

Onwards across the main road past the Asda and up the road to Pennycrofts Court.

Featuring a split level garage facility.

The just around the corner this little corner of Vienna in Stafford – Corporation Street Flats.

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 Listed Picture House 1914

Architectural alterations made by: Captain Fred Campbell in 1930.

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.

Cinema Treasures.

Close by the former Odeon

Architects: Roland Satchwell 1936

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.

Cinema Treasures

Onwards but backwards to the Civic Centre.

Tiled mural by Brian Lambert 1979

Finally arriving at this lively aggregate gable.

Kendall & Gent – Victoria Works

Posted on by modernmoocher

Bounded on three sides by Williams Road, Williams Street and Sunny Brow Lane.

Here’s the Victoria Works, formerly home to machine tool makers Kendall & Gent of Gorton Manchester.

Kendall and Gent were machine tool makers, originally of Victoria Works, Springfield, Salford.

Founded by William Kendall and George Gent in 1847.

Latterly of Victoria Works, Belle Vue/Gorton from the 1890’s, acquired by Staveley Industries in 1966.

Graces Guide

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.

Photographs: Tommy Brooks – Local Image Collection

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.

Kendall and Gent

Also of interest Richard Peacock Gorton industrialist .

Lower Falinge – Rochdale 2025

Posted on by modernmoocher

I came along to take a look around in 2017 – at this point all of the homes are occupied.

Fast forward to 2025 and the estate looks very different, a minority of the blocks have been refurbished.

The remainder have been, or are to be demolished.

Rochdale’s 2021 planning statement for Lower Falinge is beguiling in its talk of ‘a better quality and mix’ of housing, better public space and better links with surrounding areas. It goes on to say that the ‘the delivery of market housing within this area is required to deliver this diversification and to ensure the sustainability of retained affordable housing in the area’ – a sentence containing the claim that a tenure mix of public and owner-occupied housing is a good in itself, whilst also acknowledging contradictorily that affordable housing (how affordable?) is only possible by cross-subsidy from market sales’ 

Some 560 new homes were proposed in Lower Falinge. The plans as a whole proposed the loss of 720 primarily social rent homes and their replacement by 560 new homes of indeterminate tenure.

Municipal Dreams 

The tenants in the refurbished blocks with whom I chatted were convinced that demolition was not the answer, further renewal could take place, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, despite a well prepared save our homes campaign thought not.

In March, we told you that we planned to demolish the six empty maisonette blocks – Ollerton, Newstead, Romsey, Quinton, Ullesthorpe, and Vaynor, in Lower Falinge, as well as the former RSPCA buildings and the former car wash on High Street, within the next 12 months. This will make way for the development of new family homes across a larger site that we will work with the community on designing.

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing July 2025

Our beautiful mature greenery here on Lower Falinge is showcased in this wonderful video. We are proud of living here surrounded by all this nature – it really is like living in a park.

Unfortunately our urban oasis of calm is at risk of being destroyed if RBH demolish 128 homes and eventually build on the land.

Facebook/Lower Falinge

These homes are destined to be demolished.

Whilst this adjoining block has been refurbished.

Along with this block of shops.

Once home to the Highland Laddie pub which closed in 2010.

The remainder of the estate remains in limbo.

Next door the new homes have been built.

A major housing regeneration scheme which includes the construction of 30 energy efficient, affordable homes is breathing new life into the Lower Falinge neighbourhood in Rochdale.

The project is being carried out for Rochdale Boroughwide Housing by Rochdale-based main contractor The Casey Group with OMI Architects. This is the largest of 3 schemes that Casey has carried out for RBH.

Construction News

Rochdale Homes

Martins Banks and Modernity

Posted on by modernmoocher

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. 

It was taken over in 1969 by Barclays.

Wikipedia

To begin at the beginning, to begin in Sheffield – at Martins Bank Eyre Street.

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.

Martins Archive

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.

Martins Archive

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, Vault Cinema and Above boutique hotel, having previously hosted a variety of retail outlets.

Architect: Mr J E Wadsworth of Samuel Taylor Son & Platt.

Discover Burnley’s premier destination for culinary delights. Nestled on Manchester Road, Real Food Hall offers a vibrant and diverse food experience that tantalizes every taste bud. Whether you’re craving gourmet burgers, delectable street food, or indulgent desserts, we’ve got something for everyone.

Enjoy top movies in a luxurious former bank vault, featuring high-end design, ultimate comfort, and a selection of premium snacks and beverages.

Indulge in next-level hospitality with Burnley’s largest, most intelligent hotel rooms — tailored for football fans, couples, and business travellers seeking a seamless, stylish stay.

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.

Martins Archive

I was delighted to see that the Martins’ shield was still intact and in place.

This in turn lead me to the archival Designing Martins Banks.

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. 

Ribapix

The Manager’s Office.

And this is 95 Wigmore Street today.

© Diane Auckland / Fotohaus Ltd

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? 

Now operating as a Barclays branch.

Maljoe Flickr

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.

Designer – Philippa Threlfall 1966

Gloucester Branch 8-10 Southgate Street

Gloucester Cathedral, viewable from both sides: shatter-proof glass prevented hands from penetrating the fretted ceramic.

Designer Philippa Threlfall 1968

© Philippa Threlfall 

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 Tees Branch, 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.

Tib Street Manchester – Johnson & Nephew

Posted on by modernmoocher

Thanks to L Kaye and the Manchester Local Image Collection there is a photographic record of Tib Street through the years.

Shot on 35mm black and white film, cautiously clad in gaberdine and trilby. The legwork aside the processing and printing of a whole heap of exposures was a gargantuan task.

Chapeau!

Mr L Kaye member of the Manchester Amateur Photographic Society.

The street is named for the culverted River Tib.

The river’s source is a spring in Miles Platting , from where it flows underneath Oldham Road and the eponymous Tib Street to reach the city centre. After flowing underneath West Mosley Street, the Tib crosses Princess Street to flow underneath the Manchester Town Hall Extension, the Central Library and the Midland Hotel’s dining room, before joining the Medlock at Gaythorn (now First Street,  close to Deansgate railway station.

Wikipedia

The distinctive street signs the work of my old pal Tim Rushton.

There are those who will remember Tib Street, as a street of pet shops.

Whilst on Sundays the area was transformed into an al fresco menagerie – a land of caged birds and cuddly coneys.

I have long been curious about the faience fronted shop on the corner of Tib and Swan Streets, it featured on my modernist mooch around the north of the city centre.

I have been informed by Lee Hutchings that it had originally been home to Tuttils Ltd.

Ensign Cameras existed until 1961.

It was also, formerly the showrooms for local manufacturers Johnson & Nephew.

Here it is in 1959 – with a Burton’s for a neighbour.

Pragmatic Manchester is far from awash with Art Deco – the lost Paramount/Odeon of Oxford Street comes to mind, demolished in 2017.

The Paramount Theatre was built in 1930 to the designs of architects Frank T. Verity & Samuel Beverley for the U.K. arm of the American Paramount Theatres Ltd. chain. The Manchester Paramount Theatre was a sumptuous American import.

Cinema Treasures

Along with the Rylands Building on High Street – currently receiving a facelift following the demise of Debenhams.

The building was originally built as a warehouse by J. Gerrard & Sons of Swinton for the Rylands textile company, which was founded by the entrepreneur John Rylands. That firm had occupied warehouses in High Street ever since 1822; its west-facing side is on High Street. The building was designed by the eminent Manchester architects, Fairhursts – Harry S. & P. G. Fairhurst, in an Art Deco style. It is clad in Portland stone and features a decorative corner tower and eclectic ‘zig zag’ window lintels. The work was completed in 1932.

Wikipedia

Rylands will be sensitively restored to its elegant past. The building will comprise workspace, retail and leisure, creating an exciting new destination in Central Manchester.

Rylands

Also of note are the works of Joe Sunlight the Express Building and Kendals.

The Tib/Swan Street site has now ceased trading as the last of the area’s pet shops.

Time alone will tell what fate awaits it.

Walking – Talking

Posted on by modernmoocher

I began walking when quite young, then like Felix, I kept on walking, walking still.

The photograph was taking during the Whit Walks in 1958 – aged three, I was engaged in religious pilgrimage, as we know there are many reasons for walking, this is but one.

I was fortunate to grow up at a time when youngsters were permitted to roam freely, less traffic, less anxiety, gave me access to a wider axis of exploration.

The photograph would have been taken I assume, by my mam, on the Brownie 127. When aged nine I wandered alone through the local woods and exposed twelve frames of 44mm 127 film, the prints are long gone, yet I remember each of the photographs and locations clearly.

I went to school, then I didn’t, then I went to Art School, eventually becoming a teenage Constructivist, tutored by Jeffrey Steele, a leading light in the British Systems movement.

The rigidity of the grid, symmetry and orthogonal framing have stayed with me.

Then I went to work for a very long time indeed, then all of a sudden I didn’t. Taking early retirement aged 59 some ten years ago, subsequently taking to the roads, streets and hills of Britain in search of nothing in particular.

In recent years there has been a rapid development in the culture of walking, theories, films, guides, songs and literature. I am fully cognisant of such, yet believe at heart that walking can be free of such baggage, we can stride unhindered, atavistic and carefree/less.

Walk tall, walk straight and look the world right in the eye.

Getting lost is about the unfamiliar appearing.

In my own small way, I have become part of that baggage, having been asked to lead a walk around Stockport by the the modernist neé Manchester Modernist Society.

The photograph depicts Alan Boyson’s concrete screen wall, attached to the former Cooperative super store designed by Philip Andrew. The two worked to gather on the Hull Cooperative store, which is adorned by Alan’s huge Three Ships mosaic.

Philip was a childhood friend of Alan Boyson and it was Alan’s father, manager of the Marple Co-operative Society, that recommended Philip for an apprenticeship job in 1951 to the chief architect at the CWS in Manchester HQ.

Ships in the Sky

In preparation for the tour, I visited the town’s Local Heritage Library and read extensively from serendipitous charity shop finds.

The two hour route was designed around an economy of distance and elevation, allowing time for others to take in, what may be for them unfamiliar surroundings. A group of around twenty or so folk became sociable and engaged, with a suitably concise and apposite contribution from myself. There are those who busied themselves taking snaps along the way, chatting amiably or simply gazing in amazement.

The service building above the former Debenham’s store.

Beneath the spiral ramp which leads to the Red Rock car park.

The architects for the scheme were BDP – the building was not well received as it was awarded the Carbuncle of the Year 2018.

Stockport’s Town Hall extension Stopford House.

Famed as an imaginary TV police station, this civic building is a civic building I simply can’t resist. I return on a regular basis to wander and snap. This is an open public space that seems little loved and has few visitors.

From then onwards I have been taking folks on Modernist Mooches on a regular basis, two or so a month, during the less inclement times of year.

At about the same time I was asked to exhibit my photographs in Stockport, I chose to mooch about at night. Walking around an almost deserted town, avoiding the glare of streetlights, there is a mild frisson to be about when nobody else is about. The air feels different, exposures are longer, the almost waking world feels arrested, by the low available light.

Merseyway Shopping Centre designed by Bernard Engle and Partners, opened in 1965.

My local shopping centre and as such part of my weekly walking and shopping life.

NCP Car Park located on Stockport Station approach.

Regent House

Asda superstore

I found a copy of Charlie Meecham’s book Oldham Road in a charity shop.

Inspiring me in 2014, to walk in mostly straight lines, though often as not zig zagging along the main arterial roads of Manchester.

Taking pictures on Sunday mornings, in order to avoid traffic, mildly amused to be ignoring the primary function of the routes.

This is one of the more familiar roads, having walked up and down several times over several years. It was to have been an extension of the Mancunian Way, forming a trans-pennine motorway. Much of the property lining the route was cleared in preparation, it was never built, and for years a strange semi-deserted ambience hung over the A57.

Bus Depot

Railway Bridge

The car showrooms which later became an African Evangalist church.

Having cleared away both Victorian and Sixties housing, new architectural forms arose in West Gorton.

Where there were once dozens of pubs, often there are now none.

The Belle Vue Granada Bowl became a Bingo Hall then became nothing.

The 192 bus runs between Manchester Piccadilly and hazel Grove, I often ride between Stockport and town, and back.

I decided to walk the route, photographing each of the ninety eight bus stops along the way.

Piccadilly Station

UMIST Retaining Wall

Ardwick Post Office

Levenshulme

A book published by the modernist – literally eight launderettes.

Which became the first modernist calendar.

Now, everywhere I go, I see launderettes – so arriving in Hanley with time on my hands, wandering around I found this exemplary example.

Having a blog entitled Manchester Estate Pubs, the national media became interested in my photographs. I had spent quite some time, wandering around in search of this endangered architectural typology.

This was Billy Greens in Collyhurst, named for a local boxer, now demolished.

Which in turn became the second modernist calendar.

Followed the following year by fish and chip shops.

So building a vocabulary for my mooching, discovering yet another chippy, laundry, pub, Burton’s, telephone exchange, glazed stairway or underpass.

These things find you, yearning for some small amount of attention and affection.

The Trawl – my favourite peg board menu, my favourite Bridlington chippy.

We are now coming to the end of the car park year – seen here on the wall of my command centre.

The calendar was an adjunct to a walk – Twelve Car Parks.

Here we all are at Circle Square – Fielden Clegg Bradley were concept architects while Leach Rhodes Walker were delivery architects.

In September we walked around Newcastle for a weekend away – taking in Eldon Square, ably guided by local modernist Euan Lynn.

Ending our tour at Manors Car Park.

Following an urban river – the River Irk, an excellent way to devise a linear walk.

The river enclosed in blue engineers brick as it passes under the railway.

A long neglected are is now the scene of mass regeneration – rebranded Victoria North.

The former Traveller’s homes are now rubble.

Rushing miles ahead to Blackley the home of Richard Siefert’s ICI Tower.

And around the corner, these delightful reliefs attached to the Tower Blocks.

I was asked to assist in putting together an exhibition for Collyhurst Voices – walking through the memories of a community under threat.

Walking in the footsteps of Dennis Hussey’s Collyhurst Cowboy – looking toward Dalton Street

Then uphill to Eastford Square and the long lost homes.

Home to William Mitchell’s Totem, the homes long gone and the Council pledged to move the totem too.

The state of play this week, the detritus removed and the base filled in, repaved and safe for a while.

Off now to the Weaver Valley another day another river, passing under Weaver Viaduct

The looking toward Koura Global – leader in the development, manufacture, and supply of fluoro products and technologies, opened a new HFA 152a production facility at their Runcorn site in the UK.

Further rural Modernism as we pass under and traverse the M62, whilst walking around the Piethorn Valley

Then recently visiting several Yorkshire Reservoirs – here we are at Scammonden.

The newest of the Modernist Mooches was to Burnley where we visited the Keirby Hotel.

The former GUS Offices with a mural by Diane and William Morris.

Plus the Charles Anderson concrete relief at the Crow Wood Hotel.

Finally a little light relief – a visit to the Boots factory in Nottingham.

Having innocently board a bus outside the station with a Boots head code , I alighted within the factory gates. Then innocently walking around taking snaps, unheeded until the men in the van stopped me in my tracks.

Who are you, what are you doing?

I am the Modern Moocher going about my business – well it turns out this was not permitted and I was red carded by the earnest security guards and asked to leave forthwith. Suitably rebuked, I politely bade them farewell and headed for the gates.

Arterial Manchester 2024 – A56

Posted on by modernmoocher

Having photographed the arterial roads of Manchester in 2014, I have resolved to return to the task in 2024.

Some things seem to have changed, some things seem to have stayed the same.

Blackpool 2024

Posted on by modernmoocher

Blackpool Council says it remains committed to the Blackpool Central project amid the potential collapse of the developer leading the works.

But warning alarms sounded this week when Nikal – which was hired to oversee the project – filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators.

The £300m Blackpool Central development is billed as the biggest single investment in the town in more than a century and is planned to involve a “world-class leisure development” which would create 1,000 new jobs, bring an extra 600,000 visitors per year, and boost annual spend in the town by around £75m.

A spokesperson for Blackpool Council told the Blackpool Lead:

We have been working on the enabling phase of Blackpool Central over the last few years. The new multi-storey car park opened earlier this summer and we are currently completing preparations to demolish the old police station and courts building early in the New Year.

Blackpool Lead

The proposals for the Bonny Street area can be seen here.

Plans for the area have hit further problems.

A new £40m magistrates courthouse is facing building delays after the project’s main contractor collapsed. Blackpool’s magistrates court was one of twenty two projects belonging to construction giant ISG, which was working on the scheme for the Ministry of Justice.

But the firm went into administration in September, leaving two thousand two hundred workers at risk of redundancy, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Work was due to start early next year with a completion date expected in 2026.

BBC News

The town needs all the help it can get, time has not been too kind, whilst efforts have been made to invigorate the area around Blackpool North and the promenade, the back streets reflect the legacy of years of deprivation.

Blackpool ranks as one of the most deprived areas in the UK. Many people were already in poverty, and the cost of living pressures are having the biggest impact on this group, who need to spend a greater proportion of their incomes on household essentials. It is also affecting people on low and middle incomes, often surviving by having several jobs, who are being pushed into poverty. More people are turning to services for support, and as the winter progresses this is a serious concern.

Local Gov

Here is the statistical evidence as of 2021.

I have no wish to poor scorn on the area – but a short walk around the streets approximate to the coast tells a tale of failed businesses, decay and decline.

Happily there are the seeds of recovery in evidence, in the form of newly built housing.

The executive report outlines an area of regeneration to the South of the town centre. It lies broadly between Chapel Street and Rigby Road, and the Promenade and Central Drive. These have been identified as the initial areas of focus for detailed scheme development, community engagement and property acquisitions in preparation for future development.

Live Blackpool

We all deserve better.

Bury Walk

Posted on by modernmoocher

Arriving at and looking around the Interchange – 1980 architects: Essex Goodman & Suggitt

It is the northern terminus of the Manchester Metrolink’s Bury Line, which prior to 1992 was a heavy-rail line.

A new short spur line was constructed to connect the new station. The railway had originally run into Bury Bolton Street which was further away from the town centre, and was closed by British Rail on the same day that Bury Interchange opened.

It also incorporates a bus station.

Bury Interchange replaced the bus termini scattered around Bury town centre, notably around Kay Gardens.

Wikipedia

Image courtesy of Roy Banks

An £80m transformation is coming to the Bury Interchange, which will see step-free access at the Metrolink, a “vertical circulation core” to better connect the Metrolink with the bus facility, and an integrated travel hub with spaces for cycle storage.

The work is much-needed, explained Transport for Greater Manchester’s Alan Lowe, he said that the interchange was built in the 1980s and very much is of its time.

Onward to the Art Picture House which is Grade II Listed – currently operating as a Wetherspoons.

The Art Picture Palace was a 1923 rebuild of the earlier Art Picture Hall both designed by architect Albert Winstanley. The Art Picture Palace was opened on 26th January 1923. A remarkably complete survivor of a 1920’s cine-variety house executed in an elaborate style.

Films ceased in February 1965 and it became a bingo club. Later converted into a billiard hall until 19th May 1991 when it became a bingo club again, it later became a Chicago Rock Cafe.

Cinema Treasures

Next door a typical steel glass and brick banded office block Maple House.

Around the corner and over the road to the Town Hall 1939-40 architects: Reginald Edmonds of Jackson & Edmonds then 1947-54.

Large and Dull – Niklaus Pevsner.

Back through the Interchange to the former Cooperative Store of the 1930’s.

The Portland Stone towers still visible – the elevation largely retro-clad in glass.

Passing through the Millgate Shopping Centre of the 1980’s.

Unambitious but successful, the floors cheerfully tiled – Niklaus Pevsner.

Down in the subway at midday.

The better to get a view of the Market Hall 1971 – architects: Harry S Fairhurst.

The Indoor Market Hall is currently closed due to the discovery of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete – within the building structure. RAAC is a lightweight type of building material that was used between the 1950s and 1990s.

Back under the road – where we find a delightful Telephone Exchange.

With an adjacent Multi Story Car Park.

Around the bend to The Rock.

The Rock is a vibrant retail and leisure centre which is home to a range of high street fashion brands, independent retailers, tantalising eateries and fantastic entertainment – it’s the perfect place to visit any day of the week. 

It is the work of architects BDP – completed in 2010 at a cost of £350 million.

Our masterplan for The Rock took into account the historical street pattern and public realm context to give the scheme its own identity, and make visual connections to local landmarks.

The retail and leisure scheme brings many exciting brands to Bury for the first time.

New pedestrian streets rejuvenate and improve connections to adjacent areas stitching the town back together.

The development will also contain 408 one and two-bedroom apartments.

Back to basics at a former Burton’s hiding its faience facade.

Typical inter-war infill on our crazy mixed up mongrel high streets.

Ribblesdale House

Application by Shop and Store Developments Ltd submitted August 1965. Architect on application was Samuel Jackson and Son of Ocean Chambers in Bradford but during the application process this changed to John Brunton & Partners – Brunton was a partner in Jackson’s firm, at the same address. It had a restaurant and shops on the first floor.

Off now to the Bury Bolton Street Station – currently home to the East Lancashire Railway.

The street level buildings were destroyed by fire on 14 May 1947 and were replaced with a new brick and concrete entrance and footbridge in 1952. 

British Rail closed the station on 17 March 1980, when it was replaced by a new bus/rail interchange station further east into the town centre. Bury Interchange railway station served up until 1991 before the entire Bury Line was converted to light rail operation. It reopened in 1992 for Metrolink operation.

Bury was once the centre of multiple train links and the lost station of Knowsley Street.

Over the road the former Temperance Billiard Hall 1910 architect Norman Evans.

Down the side and up the steps to the Unitarian Church.

The new church was designed and constructed by local architects James T Ratcliffe.

The church was opened in 1974, with a service of dedication on Saturday, 9th March. The total cost, including furnishings, was £85,000.

The People Praising by Elizabeth Mulchinock is a 12 foot high original sculpture at the front of the church which represents the family of the church.

Her work can also be seen at Sainsbury’s in West Ealing and Reading.

Next door is the former Trustee Saving Bank.

Planning application January 1965 – work started in June 1965. The architectural firm was Richard Byrom, Hill and partners. Richard Byrom was submitting building applications in the 1930s in Bury and locally.

The rendering on the building is original but the windows have been changed. The Job Centre took over the building in 1993. It is in a conservation area and the Civic Trust had some concerns!

Many thanks to David French for the above information.

Housing – Barrow in Furness

Posted on by modernmoocher

Far, far away from the mad, rushing crowd,
Please carry me with you.
Again I would wander where memories enfold me,
There on the beautiful Island of Dreams.

At the northern end of Barrow Island lies the Ferry Road Triangle. Covering an area formerly known by the field names, Crow Nest, Great New Close, Little New Close, Moss, Cow Park and Middle Park; the Ferry Road area has always been known as the Triangle, because the shape of the estate is truly a triangle.

Barrow Island

Properties in Cameron Street had an overall average price of £45,000 over the last year.

Rightmove

I had arrived in Barrow in Furness and taken to wandering the streets, hastily in search of nothing in particular.

I came upon a neat triangle of terraced housing, which abutted the huge BAE Systems sheds.

The collision of scale created by the low lying domestic buildings, and the gargantuan industrial nuclear submarine homes, immediately put me in mind of Chris Killip’s photographs.

Chris Killip – Shipbuilding on Tyneside

He had recorded the last days of a dying industry, whilst the BAE contracts represent a long term lifeline to a once dying town.

The Ministry of Defence has awarded £3.95 billion of funding to BAE Systems for the next phase of the UK’s next-generation nuclear-powered attack submarine programme, known as SSN-AUKUS.

The funding follows the AUKUS announcement in March by the leaders of Australia, the UK and the United States. This will eventually see Australia and the UK operate SSN-AUKUS submarines, which will be based on the UK’s next generation design, incorporating technology from all three nations, including cutting-edge US submarine technologies.

Having started early design work in 2021, the £3.95bn funding will cover development work to 2028, enabling BAE Systems to move into the detailed design phase of the programme and begin to procure long-lead items. Manufacture will start towards the end of the decade with the first SSN-AUKUS boat due to be delivered in the late 2030s.

BAE Systems

The town has a long history of shipbuilding, Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited being founded in 1897.

Wikipedia

It has been said of Barrow: A rich mineral district was the cause, a railway was the effect, and an important manufacturing town the result.

The dramatic growth of Barrow-in-Furness in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries was fuelled by the ready availability of Furness iron ore. Significant investments were made in developing the town to exploit this resource. The various ironworks, steelworks, foundries, shipyards and docks required a huge influx of population to support them. This in turn led to the rapid building of rows of good quality mass-produced terraced housing for the workers, and substantial sandstone villas for the management.

Barrow Iron Industries

I stopped to chat with a local lad – I had thought Barrow to be a hard town, he thought not.

There’s not much trouble, though we have hard times – how so?

The Tories – now my kids have all got jobs for the next twenty years.

There were no reported crimes in June 2024

Devonshire Dock Hall is a large indoor shipbuilding and assembly complex that forms part of the BAE Systems shipyard.

Constructed between 1982 and 1986 by Alfred McAlpine plc for Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, DDH was built on land that was created by infilling part of Devonshire Dock with 2.4 million tonnes of sand pumped from nearby Roosecote Sands.

Wikipedia

Sadly I neglected to pop into the Crow’s Nest – the street corner pub.

The Crows Nest is a community pub that welcomes all ages.

We can cater for any occasion including: weddings, christenings, birthday parties and funerals 

Entertainment is provided on Fridays and Saturdays.

All live sport shown!

Crow Nest and Ferry Road – Circa 1910 © Sankey Family Photography Collection.

Opened in May 1888 it was described by the Barrow News as one of the best-appointed hotels in Barrow. From this start, Walton Lee, elected Town Councillor in 1886 envisaged an estate for the workers literally within spitting distance of their workplace.

A section of Career of Evil was filmed at The Crow’s Nest.

Barrow shipyard’s Devonshire Dock Hall, The Crow’s Nest pub, Barrow Island streets, including Stanley Road and Stewart Street, and Michaelson Road Bridge, all featured in episode one of Career of Evil on Sunday night.

The Mail