In recent years these homes have been under threat of both demolition and refurbishment.
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing – RBH had sought help from a developer to pay for its £107m plans to refurbish the College Bank high-rise apartments, known in the town as the Seven Sisters.
But the social housing landlord has been unable to reach a commercially viable agreement to help improve the blocks where 250 people live.
Amanda Newton, RBH chief executive said the lack of a deal was disappointing but all options for the future of the site would still be explored.
Many of the apartments spread across the Seven Sisters remain unoccupied after a plan was announced to demolish four of the blocks in 2017, leading to an exodus of hundreds of tenants. RBH later reconsidered the plan, and instead signed a deal with developer Legal & General Affordable Housing last year, to find a viable way of refurbishing the apartments.
All 700 flats in the 1960s blocks were set to be redeveloped under the plans, but the pair’s agreement has now come to an end without a solution emerging.
So an unsatisfactory stasis prevails across the windswept piazzas, podium garages and towering towers.
Local photographer Ellie Waters has her pictures of the flats displayed in the underpass.
Notes From College Bank is an ongoing project which documents the College Bank buildings in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Known locally as ‘The Seven Sisters’, College Bank is formed of seven high-rise social housing blocks, four of which have come under recent threat of demolition.
Drawing from found imagery and photographs taken by my late Grandfather – M J Burgess – who like me grew up in Rochdale, I’ve been working with past and present residents to create a collective record of life in and around College Bank.
This project is ongoing, if you would like to share your stories of College Bank please get in touch via email – notesfromcollegebank@gmail.com
Here is a recent post from Municipal Dreams outlining the history state of play – Rochdale Housing Part II.
Fast forward to the present, the Seven Sisters still stand – an impressive architectural statement in the heart of Rochdale and, to my mind, as powerful a testament to municipal endeavour and aspiration as the town’s nearby town hall. But much has changed. In the slow evolution that affected council housing more broadly, the flats became less desirable, even, in some eyes, a ‘sink estate’. In Robin Parker’s view, the Council started re-housing people in the blocks ‘not suitable for high-rise living’ – a typical occurrence when the most vulnerable on the waiting list and those with least choice are allocated to so-called ‘hard to let’ estates.
Having passed through here on more than one occasion, it only seemed polite to stop and take a look around.
It is the second busiest interchange in the county, after Stoke-on-Trent. It serves the market and county town, as well as surrounding villages. The station lies on the junction of the Trent Valley line, the Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line and the West Coast Main Line; it was also the terminus for the former Stafford–Uttoxeter and Stafford–Shrewsbury lines.
The current station was built in 1962, by the architect William Robert Headley, as part of the modernisation programme which saw the electrification of the West Coast Main Line.
We have often walked by the Magistrates’ Courts on the Preston Walk.
So, it’s about time this low lying white tiled delight received some well deserved attention.
Though recently there have been structural problems:
The safety of everyone who uses our courts is paramount and the decision to temporarily close Blackpool and Preston Magistrates’ courts was made in line with professional advice following the detection of defective Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete. These court buildings will reopen once they are assessed as safe by professionals following the completion of required remedial works.
There have also been solutions:
Preston Magistrates’ Court is currently scheduled to reopen in January 2024.
Local lad Tom Finney was unable for comment, though saddened to hear that the Microgramma sign was no longer in situ.
Copyright Rex Shutterstock
Microgramma is a sans-serif typeface designed by Aldo Novarese and Alessandro Butti for the Nebiolo Type Foundry in 1952. It became popular for use with technical illustrations in the 1960s, and was a favourite of graphic designers by the early 1970s.
The building is the work of the Borough Architects under John Hatton – though I am reliably informed that County Architect Roger Booth took an advisory role.
The Courts certainly echoes many of the stylistic and material characteristics of his work, particularly the County Archives, with similar piloti and glazing.
So let’s take a circuitous tour.
This is the seriously neglected seating area.
The Courts once had a Roger Booth Police Station as a neighbour.
Photographs – Richard Brook
Converted to apartments in 2013, with current plans for further developments.
More than 200 student flats are set to be built on part of Preston’s former divisional police headquarters.Preston City Council planning officers have recommended that councillors give the go-ahead to the scheme – at the junction of Walker Street and Lawson Street, to the rear of the magistrates’ and crown courts.
The part of the plot where the new ‘studio apartments’ would be erected is currently occupied by a multi-level public car park, accessed from Saul Street, which has been operated as a pay and display facility by Chorley-based Parking Eye for the last nine years.
Other Roger Booth police stations have also been visited by the wrecking ball, Blackpool and Bury are now no longer extant.
Well well here we are again, third time around following a visit in 2018 and later in 2021.
Almost inevitably, changes have taken place.
There is an almost constant tension between order and/or disorder.
Between those who prefer the shambolic aesthetic of the shotgun shack, and those whose hearts and minds are in the double spread of Homes and Gardens.
It’s also a question of economics, there are those with capital who may wish to make investments in property. Buy to let, second homes that yield a return above the current savings’ rates. Thus raising the cost of housing, both ordered and disordered.
The chalet is a unique wooden clad cabin painted in lovely complimentary colours of Cream and Seaspray Green. A porthole window peers into a generous open plan living room and adjoined kitchen with subtle seaside touches of stripes, driftwood, shells, all quality wooden furniture and large comfy corner sofa plus two relaxing reading chairs with plenty of blankets to snuggle up in.
So the march of big money heralds the arrival of complementary after dinner mints, uPVC cladding, tasteful nautical bric a brac, prohibitive signs, off road parking and a Hampton’s aesthetic – a little bit of New England inna little bit of England.
Despite the incursion of those folks on a week long excursion, there is still an air of lukewarm anarchy which pervades the Fitties. An array of wonky homemade fences constantly askew, refusing to be aligned to the orthogonal.
Mañana never comes here on this little stretch of the Lincolnshire coast, get it while you can.
The current church occupies this corner site by the mini roundabout – a very particular architectural style, an angular brick low level ziggurat, with buttresses to the side elevation and entrance. There are glazed brick details around the buttresses, windows and doors.
It has a central entrance which divides the main body of the chapel from the function room.
There are Victorian stained glass panels, which may be from the previous chapel.
Below the pitched roof there is a modern inset decorative glass panel.
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.
Whilst there are some common stylistic characteristics the Corporation Street Flats are of a more modest order. There are communal areas and a grassed apron, balconies and arched passages.
Over time the standard of maintenance seems to have declined, and the Crittall Windows have been replaced by white uPvc, where once there was a bowling green, this is now roughly mown and unused.
In 1870 the street pattern has yet to be established, between the South Junction railway and Chester Road. The area is occupied by a Nursery. Pomona Gardens sits beside the river, and the Corn Brook is clearly visible. To the right are the Hulme Barracks, closed and demolished in 1914.
Corn Brook Textile Street 1947
In 1884 there is new housing to the right of Chester Road.
In 1904 the Pomona Docks have been established and the are around Hadfield Street fully developed.
Pomona Docks 1923
This is an aerial view from 1930, there area is now a dense network of streets to the north of Chester Road, transport infrastructure, housing and industry sit side by side.
2025 the street pattern is still extant – but what has survived?
The Empress Brewery as seen on the previous Chester Road post.
The Empress Brewing Company was established by Charles Dawes in c. 1880, the brewery closed in 1955.
The building was converted into offices in 1992 as part of the development of the Empress Business Centre, which saw new office and business units built to form a courtyard.
24 Design Ltd Hadfield Street – an exhibition design and build practice, working extensively within the museum and heritage sector.
Glancy Fawcett Lund Street, A project-based, luxury lifestyle supplier delivering exquisite homeware for superyachts, residences and private jets.
Concept Life Sciences Hadfield Street, your trusted partner from concept to clinic. We are your integrated drug discovery and development partner for complex challenges, renowned scientific knowledge, and strategic execution across all modalities from small molecule and biologics to cell and gene therapies.
They seem to have left the building.
J Parker‘sLtd Hadfield Street, Dutch bulb importers – competitive prices across all our garden plant and bulb ranges, huge range, unbeatable prices, established 1933.
Empress Mill latterly Orchid Point Empress Street.
Built between 1903 and 1909, it echoes the industrial character of the larger industrial buildings on Chester Road and Empress Street. The property is listed as a smallware factory in the occupation of Woolf & Higham manufacturers of small wares, upholsterers’ trimmings, worsted bindings, woven venetian ladder tapes, cotton and linen venetian blind webs, spindle bandings, window blind cords, carpet bindings, bed laces. The works is shown on the Ordnance Survey of 1955 as an Engineering Works – Printing Machinery.
Local Heritage List
In 2011, FreshStart Living purchased the building, alongside others nearby, as part of a £9 million development ‘breathing new life’ into this corner of Old Trafford with 116 one and two-bedroom apartments. But, on the inside, leaking roofs, mould, exposed electrical wires and a dodgy gas connection paint a completely different picture.
Not long after purchasing it, we discovered the entire building was being powered by a generator.
Empress Mill was turned into an apartment block as part of a development called Orchid Point. It is understood some residents were allowed to move in twelve years ago, but these residents were asked to move out after a number of years due to safety issues.
On February 20th 2023, the Empress Mill was one of a number of buildings described as unsafe and unsecure by Trafford Council.
The emergency services were called to Empress Mill at 5.15am on Friday. Ten appliances from across the region, including specialist appliances called a stinger and a scorpion, attended the abandoned mill turned apartment block off Chester Road and firefighters battled the blaze into the afternoon.
Officers from Trafford Council have taken firm action to put a stop to anti-social behaviour at a vacant block of flats in the Old Trafford area.
Drug addicts and thieves have descended on Aura Court since much of it was closed in August 2020 by Greater Manchester Fire Service due to a decaying non-compliant fire escape.
The site along with Venos and Progress House is up for sale.
A rare development opportunity in Central Manchester with excellent access to Manchester City Centre Close to Salford Quays, Old Trafford Football and Cricket Grounds along with White City Retail Park The total site covers an area of approximately 2.10 Acres, historic planning consents granted on the site for in excess of 200 flats plus additional commercial accommodation.
Duckworth’s specialised in the manufacture of concentrated soluble essences, essential oils and colours supplied to the aerated water trade – local ‘pop’ men. They were leaders in the field, supplying flavours and essences around the world and developing products tailored to specific markets.
Duckworth & Co was acquired by Cargill Flavor Systems Ltd in 2003, the company vacated the Chester Road premises in 2006.
After buying the building in 2007 for a reported £3.6m, the Church of Scientology planned to re-open the building by either 2010 or 2011.
Leaders of the religious group have submitted a new application to carry out external and internal works. A design and access statement written on behalf of the church by NJSR Chartered Architects proposes a comprehensive revamp of the building.
The overall aim of the project is the refurbishment and conversion of the Duckworth Essences Building into a place of religious study and worship.
On my previous photographic visit to Conran Street Market the place was deserted, the cleaner had kindly let me in to take some snaps.
It is due to close this coming Saturday 19th July, after more than a century of trading.
Archives+ 1972
I absolutely love Conran Street Market. I have been going for years, I honestly wished I would have taken a photograph on every visit. It’s my feel good place that brings back so many memories, friendly, funny, a look at life in every visit. What an absolute pleasure to have experienced it as long as I can remember.
Mo A
This is a local basic market with few modern amenities and no access considerations. You may find some bargains on a good day but many of the stalls stand empty, and the general disrepair all around is grim. One word about the toilets: don’t.
Judy S
So it goes – a rainy Tuesday, following days of summer sunshine, paddling in puddles, as the drips dripped off the stalls’ sagging roofs, some empty some laden, with this that and the other.
Upright citizens at large in a skewed world, hi vis, low cost goods with nowhere else to go.
Walking from Cornbrook toward Stretford along Chester Road – which is one half of my Tram Trip to Altrincham
There is a cluster of former industrial buildings around Empress Street.
First up is the Empress Brewery.
The Empress Brewing Company was established by Charles Dawes in c. 1880, although the company was sold to William Henry Fulford in 1884, who had recently sold the Monarch Brewery in Salford. Fulford was based at the Empress Brewery on Clarence Street in Manchester, but had relocated to new premises on 383 Chester Road. These had been built in 1889 and operated initially as the Old Trafford Brewing Company, but the name had changed to the Empress Brewery Company by 1895. The company acquired a number of breweries and associated licenced house during the early 20th century, however, in 1929 it was taken over by Peter Walker and Son. The brewery closed in 1955.
The building was converted into offices in 1992 as part of the development of the Empress Business Centre, which saw new office and business units built to form a courtyard.
Including the Queens Arms on Honey Street Red Bank, one of the first independent real boozers back in the 1980’s, subsequently it has seen various uses last seen on my Collyhurst Circular walk.
The development of the site can be traced from the sequence of Ordnance Survey 1:2500 maps. The First Edition of 1893 shows the site as undeveloped. The First Revision map of 1908 shows 384 Chester Road to have been developed, and the site of the National Works to have been occupied by an open-fronted L-shaped range along the western and southern sides, with a detached rectangular building in a central courtyard. It is possible that these buildings all formed part of 384 Chester Road, listed as being occupied by H, G & O Lewtas, lamp manufacturers, in Slater’s trade directory for 1911. The Second Revision map of 1922 shows the early building to have been subsumed by the current building.
1961 Local Image Collection
Later the home of Lion Foodpackers Ltd and Crimpy Crisps.
Situated on the lower ground floor of a gorgeous, red brick, landmark building, this 2 double bedroom apartment merits further inspection. A good size living room opens on to a good fitted kitchen. It also has a great, spacious shower room. It also benefits from a parking space, although a great attraction is the location, being just 1 mile from Deansgate and the City along with being 10 minutes walk to a Metro station.
Then we have the Veno’s Building, which was once a pharmaceutical company founded by William Henry Veno. He established a company in the US before returning to Britain and founded the Veno drug Company in Manchester in 1898.
In 1925 the company was sold to Beecham Estate and Pills Ltd. In the 60s the building was under the name Progress House and was home to the Co-Operative Press Limited, later to become Trafford Press.
Rare sighting of a Profil aka Stymie Bold Italic hyphen.
Designed by brothers Max and Eugen Lenz and first cast by Haas in 1947.
The front elevation was originally in red brick, with a later faience facade applied.
Veno’s a stalled and cursed development. In 1925 William Henry Veno sold his company for £500,000, a decision he later rued. He sought to enhance his million pound fortune but lost everything through speculative investments and the 1929 Depression. He shot himself at his home during a fit of impulsive insanity.
It was also the home of Germolene, a thick antiseptic ointment with a distinctive pink colour and scented with oil of wintergreen
One of the last privately owned markets in the city, is to close on July 19th 2025, after serving the area for over a century.
The family which owns the Harpurhey site has decided to put the acre of land and its existing redbrick buildings up for sale. It will be auctioned off with a guide price of £450,000.
It’s so sad the stall holders, and the community that surrounds the market, have lost their place to go on weekly basis, meeting friends for brew and bacon butty, chats and last minute buys, rummaging around in boxes finding treasures. The previous owner Mike, would have fought tooth and nail to keep this beloved market open, he would be turning in his grave.
I visited on 30th January 2023 – the gate was open there was nobody home, except the cleaner and me.
Princess Cinema It is listed in Kinematograph Year Books from 1927 to 1954, but had gone from listings by 1962. It had a Western Electricsound system. The upper part was later removed after a serious fire and the remainder became an indoor market.
X1 has launched the first phase of its major Manchester Waters development on the outskirts of the city centre. The development will be delivered in partnership with property developer and landowner Peel and is located on Pomona Island. Phase one will include 755 flats, with the first completions scheduled for 2019.
Thus far phase one has arrived, other phases less so.
A Covid induced hiatus has meant that the masterplan has hit the buffers.
The revamped masterplan, covering almost 25 acres of currently underdeveloped brownfield land, would transform around 60% of the masterplan area into public realm and open space to help promote active lifestyles and the natural beauty of the waterfront site which is surrounded by the Manchester Ship Canal and the Bridgewater Canal.
Over time there has been resistance to the tidal wave of regeneration that is sweeping down the Ship canal engulfing Pomona Island.
Save Pomona are a group of Manchester/Salford and Trafford residents committed to seeing the future of Pomona be a community based and sustainable one rather than a purely commercial one that benefits only a few.
Last Thursday, campaigners aiming to save the old dockland site across the Manchester Ship Canal from Ordsallheld a Pomona Day, and yesterday it was the Pomona Festival as the community turned out to view the wildlife and flora that has sprung up on the abandoned dockland site.
Peel have already cleared most of the scrub, before they submitted the planning application, probably because they know they can get away with it and because they think there is less chance of objection from the public.
Several Years ago Martin Zero celebrated the flowers and fauna in video from.
However the overwhelming might of Peel Holdings, along with the collective commercial imperatives of the local Local Authorities, has proved to be an unstoppable force, with few unmovable objections.
Friday July 4th 2025, I happened to slip through the often locked gates at Cornbrook, to take a look at the current state of play. Over time the site has been mechanically scraped and cleared, but the undergrowth simply grows back again.
The pub was open, but the Alan Boyson mural was in need of repair.
The missing panel, stored in the pub’s cellar was subsequently reinstated.
Then, following a Modernist crowdfunding project instigated by Richard Brook and Christopher Marsden, Alice Vincent-Barwood restored the work, during July 2022.
Sadly in August 2023 the pub lost its licence and remains closed.
Wandering from Town to Moston yesterday, I happened to pass by, so I took some photos, here they are:
Martins Bank was a London private bank, trading for much of its time under the symbol of The Grasshopper, that could trace its origins back to Thomas Gresham and the London goldsmiths, from which it developed into a bank known as Martin’s Bank from 1890.[1] That bank was acquired in 1918 by the Bank of Liverpool, which wanted Martins to give it a London presence and a seat on the London Bankers’ Clearing House. The Martin name was retained in the title of the enlarged bank which was known as the Bank of Liverpool and Martins Limited. The title was shortened to Martins Bank Limited, without an apostrophe – in 1928, at the insistence of the directors of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank when it was bought by the Bank of Liverpool and Martins. The head office and managerial control remained firmly in Liverpool, cementing Martins’ place as the only English national bank to have its head office outside London.
Opened in 1961, Martins Bank’s branch at Sheffield Moor is new and purpose built, occupying space left in the Sheffield Moor area by the bombing of the second world war. Time flies however, and more than fifty years on, the building is empty and awaiting the next chapter of its life.
Onwards to 38 Market Street Hyde – photographed as part of my Tameside Moderne book.
Seen here in 1963 – the year of its opening.
The rebuilt branch at 38 Market Street Hyde is typical of the clean lines and minimal fuss of Martins’ 60s rebuilds. After a year or so in temporary premises at 25 Market street it re-opens in 1965, and a year later a smaller but remarkably similar looking branch is completed at Peterborough.
Then last week in Burnley, I stumbled across another former branch, whilst on my Burnley walk – it is currently trading as the Real Food Hall, VaultCinemaandAboveboutique hotel, having previously hosted a variety of retail outlets.
Architect: Mr J E Wadsworth of Samuel Taylor Son & Platt.
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.
Since the last war the uses of fibreglass have developed to such an extent, that there are now companies engaged solely in the manufacture of fibreglass products. Such a company is Carleton Russell Limited whose works at Loughborough. The company makes fibreglass signs and displays and has produced several of our Bank signs. At the time of our visit the finishing touches were being made to the huge sign, seen in the colour photograph below, which now gleams upon customers entering our branch at Digbeth, Birmingham.
Why fibreglass – two of its advantages, lightness and flexibility, have much to recommend it as the material for a wall sign, either inside or outside a building. The Coats of Arms carved in stone which once surmounted the two entrances to our Leeds office, have now given way to fibre-glass reproductions. Weather resistance is another valuable property of these signs and Hove branch, for example, exposed to coastal weather, is saved frequent cleaning and retouching costs by having its external sign made from fibreglass.
In addition to innovative materials, Martins began to employ Modernist Architecture, interiors and design to attract a younger customer base.
Particularly at their branch on 95 Wigmore Street London, where Ernö Goldfinger was commissioned to do away with the old and bring in only the newest of the new.
New office development for Great Portland Estates on Wigmore St. Designed by architects ORMS, 95 Wigmore Street is a new office and retail development by the Great Wigmore Partnership, completed in 2013. The building occupies a prominent site in the West End, between the thriving restaurants and bars on James Street and yards from Selfridges on Duke Street.
Closer to home this is the Fishergate Branch in Preston, opened in August 1965.
Preston branch today is not merely impressive; it is handsome. The entrance porch is of clear glass but the windows are of hand-made tinted glass set in aluminium frames, the counter is of teak, faced with Sicilian marble, and the walls of the main banking office are of wide elm boarding with one large panel of silver grey marble.
The management rooms are lined with cedar of Lebanon against a maple background and hot water coils in the ceilings warm all the office areas. Clearly the transformation has cost a lot of money and even the more humble rooms would not disgrace the London Hilton. Does the Hilton staff kitchen, for example, have built-in teak wall cupboards with magnetised catches?
In the late 1950s, Martins begins to commission works of art that can take pride of place in new branches, and in most cases reflect something of the local area – a kind of giving back to the people. To begin with, this is neither a grand nor hollow gesture, and the character of many a branch is decided by its own unique internal décor and its artwork.
Such as the four elaborate carvings from Newbury Branch, depicting four local activities – Brewing, Weaving, Chasing and Farming.
Bristol Clifton 9a Whiteladies Road – the design depicts various buildings and landmarks in Bristol.
Philippa Threlfall has been making relief murals in ceramic since the 1960s. Together with her husband and partner Kennedy Collings she has completed over one hundred major works on sites all over the United Kingdom and overseas. Some of these were made for private clients, but most were commissioned for display in public situations – shopping precincts, banks, building societies, an airport, hospital and office developments.
Philippa studied Illustration and Ceramics at Cardiff College of Art and went on to qualify as an art teacher at Goldsmiths College London. She taught ceramics and painting part time for six years at North London Collegiate School in Edgware, and during this time began to receive commissions for mural work.
Bournemouth 39 Old Christchurch Road, where sculptor Paul Fletcher’s creation exudes locality and security at the doors of the branch.
Where in the universe have we landed? Is this one of the wobbly sets from the 1960s episodes of Dr Who? Even worse – no need for LSD when paying in your £SD at the new Watford Branch – Bryan & Norman Westwood & Partners, architects 1962.
Ribapix – rear elevation.
The uneven cobbled effect on the floor, clashing with walls that look as if they might close in on you at any minute, must have made for an interesting visit to Watford.
The public space is comparatively dimly lit, with a black ceiling, slate floor and dark-coloured sculptural panels by Eric Peskett placed in echelon so that as you go into the bank the wall appears to be quite solid, but on leaving you see the street through the windows set between the slabs.
The counter top is a solid piece of Afromosia. The floor is of riven Delabole slate. The sculptured slabs between the writing desks have in parts a very smooth shining surface obtained by casting against glass and the insets are rough and dark, they were cast in rubber moulds. The ceiling is roughly textured Pyrok, dark grey in colour and intensely sound-absorbing.
The Architect and Building News – 5 September 1962
Ribapix
And finally – welcome to dystopia 1967 – or Thornaby on TeesBranch, as it is known, an office drowned in its own grey drabness, a real nightmare in concrete. How many people were subject to trudging those awkward walkways with a pram, we can only guess.
The in-house Martins’ magazine and archive may at times, have an ambivalent attitude towards Modernism, I myself, can only admire the optimism and originality, embodied in the work that the bank commissioned.
Many thanks Modern Martins, from thoroughly Modern Mooch.
Burnley Central railway station is a stop on the East Lancashire Line, it is managed by Northern Trains, which also provides its passenger service.
Architect: RL Moorcroft of British Rail 1964-1966
Described by Claire Hartwell in the Buildings of England Lancashire: North as – of blue brick, bleak.
The station was opened by the East Lancashire Railway in 1848, as part of its route from Bury and Blackburn to Colne; here, an end-on junction was made with the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway line from Skipton that had been completed several months earlier. The service from Colne through the station to Manchester Victoria, via Accrington and Bury, was well used from the outset by the owners of the local cotton mills, who travelled from their homes in the area to make their purchases of raw cotton at the Royal Exchange several times each week. It was also possible to travel from the station by direct train to Blackpool, Liverpool and Skipton and even through to London Euston, via Blackburn, Manchester Victoria and Stockport.
1964 Red Rose Collections.
However, the cutbacks of the 1960s affected the station badly, with through trains to Manchester via Bury ending in 1964 (two years before the withdrawal of the Accrington to Bury service) and those to Liverpool in 1969 whilst the line to Skipton was closed to all traffic in 1970. This left the station on a 10.5 km long dead-end branch line from Rose Grove to Colne.
The station was rebuilt in 1965, its ground floor is at street level and the first floor at platform level.
We were wandering by bicycle in the Wolds – we came to see All Saints Church in Rudston.
I was particularly intrigued by the Twentieth Century stained glass.
Grade II Listed All Saints sits in the grounds of the famous Rudston megalith , this alone clearly points to the area being of ritual use thousands of years before this Norman church was erected. At 26 feet high, it is the tallest standing stone in Britain. The megalith was set here around 2000 BC, after being quarried and transported from the Cleveland Hills, west of Whitby.
It is a lovely early Norman church built around the year 1100 by William Peverel, lord of the manor. Of that Norman church, the tower remains, and you can still trace the original west entrance in the stonework at the west end of the church.
The Norman building was extended in the 13th century when both north and south aisles were added, along with the name and chancel arch. In the sanctuary is a slightly later sedilia.
Most of the Stained Glass in the Windows is modern, designed by John Hardman Studios– 1954-56, and replacing 19th century glass by Capronnier of Brussels and Hodgson of York, destroyed by a land mine in the second world war. The various depictions speak for themselves and these pleasing windows are worth examining, particularly the east window above the altar. It has four panels, the left one depicting SS Peter, Paul, James, John, Ethelburga and the Venerable Bede, the two central panels show the Blessed Virgin Mary and the child Jesus, and the living Christ ‘Reigning from the cross.’ The panel on the right shows northern saints Wilfrid, Cuthbert, Chad, John of Beverley, Alcuin of York, Oswald, Edwin, and most unusually William Wilberforce, MP for Hull and then Yorkshire, who pioneered the abolition of slavery.
Design for Stained Glass Window for Notre Dame Church Fall River Massachusetts USA – 1921
Chancel North Window by Arthur Lucien Ward 1915
Depicting Sir Alexander Macdonald playing the organ surrounded by a choir – We Praise Thee O God. Sir Alexander gave the organ, and was organist and choirmaster for nearly 50 years.
He designed for AR Mowbray from around the time of the First World War into the 1930s.
Having completed five years at York Art School, then work experience with Harry Harvey FMGP, Ann chose to specialise in stained glass. After working as Harry’s studio assistant for several years, she set up her own workshop in 1987.
The Sower window by Harry Harvey – 1956.
Harry William Harvey FMGP born 1922 died 2011, was born in Birmingham and received his initial training in stained glass from the local firm of Pierce & Cutler. After the war he joined Wippells of Exeter, before moving to York at the instigation of another Wippells old boy, Harry Stammers, with whom he worked until establishing his own studio in 1956. He also collaborated over many years with Joseph Fisher of Shrigley & Hunt. Two of his assistants, Ann Sotheran and Sep Waugh also went on to establish their own studios.
And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Later in the week I discovered more of Harry Harvey’s work, in nearby All Saints Kilham – the chancel north window 1967.
Depicting on the right Orlando Gibbons, Henry Purcell, JS Bach, St Hilary. Whilst on the left there is John Dunstable, St Gregory, St Ambrose and John Merbeeke.
Visiting Halifax Borough Market for the first time feels a bit like taking a step back in time. This award-winning market was first opened in 1896 and has been the beating heart of the town ever since. Its Victorian splendour can be seen throughout – on the ornate clock-tower, in the glass roof and on the intricate carvings. Décor and atmosphere combine to create a shopping experience that just cannot be matched.
Calderdale Gov
The Markets and Fairs Committee decided in 1890 to replace the overflowing market place with a new structure. Local architects Joseph and John Leeming were engaged to draw up plans. A £50,000 loan was obtained by the Corporation the following year, with the final cost rising to £130,000, which was £20,000 over budget. Work began in October 1892 and progressed slowly, until the market was officially opened on 25 July 1896 by the Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George V and Queen Mary.
The life of the market along with the high street faces an uncertain future, the local authority are doing their best to ensure that both have a future.
Through UK Government funding, we’re updating this iconic Victorian market. We’re creating a warmer and more welcoming place for people to shop, eat, drink and spend time.
I have very fond memories of shopping with my mam on Ashton Market, and use my local market here in Stockport. I love the conviviality and the stimulating visual displays, the overcrowded abundance, a florid cornucopia of goods and services.
However, in this instance I was beguiled by an empty stall, the former home of Illuminate Electrical Supplies.
Gone now are the rich variety of shades, plugs, flexes, batteries and lamps, what remains are the bare bones of making do.
Odds and ends, fixtures and fittings, fitted in as and when.
Yesterday, Wednesday 21st May 2025, the sun was shining and the tide was out, I decided to walk along the sands, and look towards the land.
To the right the Imperial Hotel – 1866-7 by Clegg and Knowles of Manchester, wing added 1875 by Mangnall and Littlewood.
The hotel was established in 1867. Charles Dickens stayed at the hotel in 1869. In 1904, the hotel was extended with the addition of a large neo-baroque style dining room. In 1912, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll stayed at the hotel.In the mid 20th century, Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon and The Beatles stayed at the hotel. Queen Elizabeth II stayed at the hotel when visiting Blackpool. In 1985, Margaret Thatcher celebrated her 60th birthday in the hotel. In 2002, US President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair stayed at the hotel for the Labour party conference.
Join us at The Imperial Hotel Blackpool for an unforgettable experience where entertainment, family fun, and group leisure come together. Book now and start creating memories that will last a lifetime.
Grand Hotel – the hotel was built as the Pembroke Hotel in 1982, became the Hilton Hotel in 1999 and The Grand Hotel in 2017
The hotel was built next to the site of the Derby Baths 1939 – architect: John Charles Robinson who between 1920-1944 designed many of Blackpool’s landmark civic buildings including libraries, schools, swimming baths, leisure facilities and tourist infrastructure.
The Savoy Hotel, just north of Gynn Square, is one of the series of large red brick and red terracotta hotels built around the turn of the century. The architect was TG Lumb and the hotel opened in 1915; the sun lounge in Hathern’s cream faience was added in 1935 by Lumb and Walton.
The Cliffs Hotel started in 1921 – architect Halstead Best substantially rebuilt and enlarged the building 1936–37 and added an underground carpark
Castle Casino – architect: Arthur Hindle 1906
Arthur Knowles built the Castle at 64 Queens Promenade North Shore for his wife, who unfortunately stayed in France. The couple stayed in the house for a mere nine months during 1929. Apart from housing Belgian refugees during World War 1, it stayed empty until 1935. It then opened briefly as an old people’s home, before being bought by Lawrence Wright – AKA Horatio Nicholls, as his home.
Wright sold it in 1941, and after several years as the home of the Blackpool and Fylde Motor Club, it became the Castle Casino of today in 1965, first owned by wrestler Jack Pye, who moved to Blackpool in 1950. It has had various identities, and was last taken over in 2005, now being known as the Genting Club – part of a national chain of that name.
Former Miners Convalescent Home 1925-27 – architects: Bradshaw Gass & Hope, Grade II listed
Converted to apartments in 2005 – trading as Admiral Point.
Norbreck Castle Hotel originally built as a large private country house in 1869, it was bought around the end of the 19th century by JH Shorrocks, who used the house to entertain friends and colleagues at lavish weekend parties. The popularity of these parties led to Shorrocks running them on a commercial basis by taking paying guests.
The S Block by architect WH Longworth 1912 – the N Block by Halstead Best 1933-34.
In the 1970’s the Motel wing was added along with, the large Norcalympia exhibition hall, the name was changed from the Norbreck Hydro to Norbreck Castle.
European Regional Development Fund cash of £450,000 was granted towards a regeneration project on Cleveleys Promenade. Wyre Council improved 64,000 sq ft of the promenade to create a more attractive place for visitors to the town. The latest work complements the £20m sea defence installation.
Broadbent Studio worked collaboratively from the outset with Wyre Council, Ferguson & McIlveen and Faber Maunsell in 2008, to create an exciting new promenade and sea defence scheme for the coastline at Cleveleys.
The Sea Swallow is a 10m tall structure that brings to life Wyre’s Mythic Coast storybook ‘The Sea Swallow’. The coated aluminium sculpture, has the feel of ‘a book coming to life’, with the two sea swallows symbolic of the town’s protectors emerging from the page.
Once upon many times ago we all went to Belle Vue – formed from John Jennison’s Victorian pleasure gardens and zoo, into an inner city funfair and entertainment extravaganza.
I went to the circus, competed in school sports days, watched the wrestling and music, I still go to the speedway – Belle Vue Aces now racing at the nearby National Speedway Stadium.
Then one day it all fell apart.
In 1979 the amusement park was leased to the main concessionaire, Alf Wadbrooke, although by then it was only open at weekends during the summer season. The long-promised restoration of the Scenic Railway had not happened and the Water Chute had closed. In August 1980, Wadbrooke was given notice to close down the park by 26 October 1980 and to have all his equipment removed by February 1981.
In 1963 the Top Lake, formerly known as the Great Lake, was filled in and a 32-lane ten-pin bowling alley built on its site, just behind the Lake Hotel.
Known as the Belle Vue Granada Bowl, it opened in 1965, advertised as “the north’s leading luxury centre”. In 1983, after the rest of Belle Vue had closed, it was sold to First Leisure Group, and bowling continued for a time.
Wikipedia
The 32-lane Granada Bowl at Belle Vue, Manchester is believed to have been the first centre to be opened by Granada and the centre went on to become one of the most successful in the country.
The centre was equipped with lanes and machines supplied by AMF and the rest of the centre was well appointed with a licensed bar and food operation. The centre was a joint operation between Granada and Belle Vue with two directors from each company on the board of Belle Vue Granada Bowl Limited.
To mark the opening ceremony Lee Kates, with the support of the band of the 8th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment and trumpeters of the Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry, introduced Granada’s Mr Chapman, who made a short speech and welcomed the guests. The golden ball was handed to guest Pat Phoenix, star of the TV soap Coronation Street, to roll the first ball.
Gala Bingo came and went too.
Buzz Bingo have announced plans to close nine of their 91 clubs across the country.
One of those earmarked for closure is the club at Belle Vue. Bosses are blaming the dwindling number of players following the Covid lockdowns as well as the ‘ongoing and challenging operating environment’ of increased energy bills and other costs.
The station was covered by twin train sheds, an architecturally detailed canopy that covered all platforms. In 2000, due to its decaying state, it was removed, changing the nature of the station in a £35 million regeneration project. A new building was built on the main island platform. The Grade II listed original entrance built in the 1880s,including the station buffet and former booking hall, was retained and refurbished.
Facing the station the 2015 development of hotel and office space.
Arriving by train into Blackburn Rail Station, visitors get the full impact of this carefully planned but ambitious regeneration project. Maple Grove’s aspiration was to offer something befitting of a city centre in one of the region’s largest towns. Cathedral Square comprises a six storey BREEAM Excellent office building, designed by BDP, a Premier Inn Hotel, restaurants and cafes positioned around a new public square that acts as a link between the rail station, cathedral and beyond to the shopping centre.
Left onto Jubilee Street where we find the Telephone Exchange.
The site was formerly occupied by the Grand Theatre – in the 1950’s, Blackburn had no fewer than fourteen cinemas. The Grand carried on being a live venue until its closure in 1956, before finally being demolished in 1958.
Further down the road the rear of another former cinema – The Olympia
The Olympia was opened on 19th May 1909 as a roller skating rink. It was a short lived venture and closed in November 1911. It was converted into the Olympia Theatre, presenting music hall/variety, opening on 12th December 1911. Seating was provided for 2,000, many on long wooden benches. The proscenium was 32 feet wide and the stage 50 feet deep. It was soon screening films as part of the programme.
It was converted into a full time cinema in 1921, although there were still some variety acts on the programme. All the original wooden benches used for seating in the theatre were removed and replaced by regular tip-up seats, reducing the seating capacity to 1,360. During the 1940’s, the Olympia Cinema boasted a café for the convenience of its patrons and it was operated by Jacksons’ Amusements, Ltd.
The Olympia Cinema was mainly independently operated, and closed in 1957. It stood empty for two years, then in 1959, it was taken over by Mecca Ltd, and converted into the Locarno Ballroom, later becoming a Mecca Bingo Club. It later became the Golden Palms Nightclub, Jumpin’ Jax, and since 2009 it operated as a trendy nightclub named Liquid & Envy.
Previous to 1900 the site at the corner of Mincing Lane and Mill Lane had housed a temporary circus, known as Ohmy’s Circus. The New Central Hall was built and opened in April 1900, and was used as a roller skating rink until November 1909, when it was converted into the 1,000-seat Central Hall Cinema.
Altered and enlarged to 1,372 seats in 1923, it was re-named New Central Hall Cinema. The proscenium was 20 feet wide, later enlarged to 22 feet.
The Central Cinema was closed in January 1957. Then in 1974, it was renovated and was converted into a Walkers Bingo Club, which remained open until at least 1995. It recently operated as a Riley’s American Pool and Snooker Club until early 2009. In November 2009 after a refurbishment, it re-opened as the VIP Snooker Club.
Turn right into Darwen Street along to the former Barclays Bank.
Next door Lloyd’s Bank extension.
On Astley Gate the brown tiled remains of the Shopping Centre now known as The Mall.
The shopping centre was built in three phases, with the final phase opening in 1979. The centre was refurbished in 1995, during which the lower floor of the former Co-Operative Department Store was transformed into the Ainsworth Mall.
The centre was bought by Standard Life in 1993 and its name was subsequently changed to Blackburn Shopping Centre. Standard Life sold the centre in 2003 to Reit Asset Management.
In 2004, Reit Asset Management sold the centre to The Mall Fund. The centre was sold again in 2022 to the Adhan Group from The Mall Fund for £40 million.
Around the corner the Mother and Child monument, created by Welsh sculptor Robert Thomas in 1974, who used his wife and child as models.
In 1974 the statue was placed in Lord Square, removed in 2007 and placed in storage, it was placed in Cardwell Place in 2012.
The Mall has been significantly remodelled, along with the adjacent Tower Block.
Above the Mall is a dizzying array of multi storey car parks – reflecting the various stages of development.
Next to the Central Library, the former Co-op Emporium by Walter Stirrup in Town Hall Street, opened in 1930, was converted into a £1m library by BDP, it opened on September 1st 1975.
Onward to 10 Duke Street – home to council offices and the NHS, the Tower Block is now no longer in use.
Blackburn’s former town hall tower block has over the years become one of our most recognisable buildings. Sadly it is now starting to be given derogatory names, such as the ‘Big Empty’ and ‘Mothballed Monolith’. But compared to how it looked some years ago, before being reclad in today’s design, it still impresses many visitors to our town. Wouldn’t it be great if Blackburn’s ‘Big Empty’ could become full again.
These tower blocks were the flats at Queens Park and in the background you can see the co-called ‘deck-access’ flats at Shadsworth.
Bowland House was one of three tower blocks built in 1963 and the only one still standing after the others, Ribble and Pendle, were torn down in 2001 to be replaced by homes.
In 2022 Bowland House was refurbished.
Former four-time World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty was the guest of honour as Great Places’ Bowland House in Blackburn was officially unveiled.
Three thirteen-storey slab blocks built as public housing using the Sectra industrialised building system. The blocks contain 183 dwellings in total, consisting of 72 one-bedroom flats and 111 two-bedroom flats. The blocks are of storiform construction clad with precast concrete panels. The panels are faced with exposed white Cornish aggregate. Spandrel panels set with black Shap granite aggregate are used under the gable kitchen windows. The blocks were designed by the Borough architect in association with Sydney Greenwood. Construction was approved by committee in 1966.
1987 view of Birley Street development, with Trinity Court in the foreground: Tower Block
Back now into the centre – passing the now empty site of Thwaites Brewery, demolished in 2019.
Also missing in action is the 1960’s Market Hall – architect Tom Brennan.
The new Bus Station designed by Capita Symonds – replacing the old bus station.
The outward facing elements of the building are flat and orthogonal. In contrast, the underside of the canopy is free flowing and consists of a number of glazed slots cut in the canopy to allow daylight to penetrate onto the concourse area. Directly below each of the slots is a hanging loop which appears to be pulled down from the canopy to reveal a glazed opening. The composition of these draws inspiration from the cotton weaving looms, and drying cotton bundles, a reference to the town’s industrial past.
There are four loop types (A, B, C & D) which are arranged to alter the scale of the concourse and create a rhythm of peaks and troughs along its length. Loop A is designed to provide support to the whole canopy allowing the canopy to appear as one floating unified element.
Newspaper House – once the home to the LancashireTelegraph, converted to apartments in 2017.
Finally to the Garde II* listed BlackburnCathedralchurch – since 1926, formerly parish church, 1820-6 by John Palmer of Manchester.
Central concrete corona by Lawrence King 1961 – it was rebuilt in stone by Brian Lowe in 1998.
The Healing of Nations in steel and copper by Mark Jalland 2001.
It is a reflection on the opening of chapter 22 of the book of Revelation, new Jerusalem, and ‘the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations’.
Traditionally a stained-glass window at the east end of a cathedral would reflect a spectrum of light into the building but this sculpture projects the light out in a kaleidoscope of colour reminding us of Jesus the light of the world and the hope that we have in him.
Annunciation and Christ in Majesty sculptures by Siegfried Pietsch 1965.
Modern Mooch 