A Short Stockport Walk

Posted on by modernmoocher

I was asked by SMBC to take folks on a short Stockport walk – beginning at Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery and concluding at the Stockroom, a distance of less than a mile.

So here we are beginning at Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery a Grade II* listed building opened in 1927.

Designed in Neoclassical Greek Revival style with central tetrastyle Corinthian portico, the order loosely based on Temple of Apollo at Bassae

The Gallery has a long history of exhibitions from some of the art world’s finest artists. Today the gallery boasts an extensive exhibition program, which gives emerging artists a chance to showcase their work.

 Designed by James Theodore Halliday of Halliday Paterson & Agate of Manchester.

Sculpture by Gilbert Ledward.

© National Portrait Gallery

Crossing over the Wellington Road South to the site of the former Mount Tabor Chapel 1868 designed by William Hill.

Closed in 1954 demolished in 1969.

The capitals of Chapel’s Corinthian columns, surround the site of the Cockleshell Hero memorial 2017 – sculptor Luke Perry.

The former Edgeley milkman James Conway took part in the Royal Marines’ most famous wartime raid, where he was one of the twelve men who paddled more than eighty miles in canoes up the Gironde to plant limpet mines on shipping in the German occupied French city of Bordeaux in 1942.

Royal Navy UK

Down the hill to Stockport Town Hall 1908 another Grade II* listed building – designed by Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas, built in a free English Baroque style.

Although much simpler than continental Baroque architecture, English Baroque designs were equally heavy, sensual and decorative.

Across the road the former Stockport Infirmary l832 Grade II listed – architect Richard Lane.

Currently named Millennium House, home to the Department of Works and Pensions.

Around the back of the Town hall we find Stopford House built in 1975 and designed by JS Rank OBE, Director of Development & Town Planning, Stockport Council.

The painting has recently been much improved by the folks from Merseyway Workshop along with local volunteers.

They also staged the hugely successful Stopford House Party in August.

Back down the road to the old Grand Central.

Formerly a large coal yard, replaced by a huge leisure facility and now a hotel and office complex, with a municipal swimming pool attached.

Next door the former Royal Mail sorting office.

The transformation of a building once dubbed Stockport’s ugliest has been completed, now known as The Mailbox.

When it was built in the 1970s, it was given extra reinforcement due to the risk of IRA letter bombs. The sorting office closed and moved sites in 2010, from when the building was vacant for nearly a decade.

The state-of-the-art development is now home to 117 ‘stunning’ new one and two-bedroom apartments and 12,500 square feet of commercial space. There is an atrium at its heart a roof terrace with views across the town centre.

It also has an eighteen -metre high green ‘living wall’ covering the front and other parts of the exterior, which with 114,500 plants is the largest of its kind by surface area in the North of England.

MEN 2023

Over the road the Grade II listed former Central Library – architects Bradshaw Gass and Hope, funded by Andrew Carnegie, opened in October 1913.

Current plans are to use the building as a new home for the Stockport Music Service.

Adjacent is the Garrick Theatre.

The Stockport Garrick Theatre was founded on 24th of October 1901, by engineer Edwin Heys and his fellow actors: fugitives from the disbanded dramatic society of Stockport Unitarian Church. Meeting in what was then The Church Coffee Tavern on St Petersgate, Heys and his friends resolved to found a new society ‘to perform the best plays by the most capable amateur actors and with the finest scenic effects’.

The society purchased its current building, an old mill occupied by an assortment of small businesses, in 1920. Since then, the building’s labyrinthine interior has undergone various refurbishments to enhance the society’s ability to produce theatre to the highest standards possible.

The newly painted murals are by Captain Kris.

Next door the Hat Works – the UK’s only museum dedicated to the hatting industry, hats and headwear.

Occupying part of the Grade II listed Wellington Mill, a cotton mill of 1831 which became Ward’s Hat Works.

Both cotton spinning and hat making contributing to the economic development of Stockport in the C19th.

Across the way the long gone Carlton Cinema Architects: Francis Edison Drury and Joseph G Gomersall.

Opened on 28th July 1937.

In July 1948 the cinema was taken over by the Essoldo Cinemas chain. In 1954 the Essoldo became the town’s first CinemaScope cinema and for many years was the only cinema to offer full stereophonic sound. Richard Burton in The Robe was the first widescreen film to be shown, followed by Marilyn Monroe in How to Marry a Millionaire.

At the height of the Davy Crockett craze, in 1956, Fess Parker made a personal appearance at the Essoldo.

It was converted into a twin screen cinema in 1971, by converting the balcony into Screen 2, it was taken over by the Classic Cinemas chain in 1972. Its final owners were the Cannon Group who ran the cinema from 1982 to its final closure on June 21st 1990.

The cinema was demolished in 1994 and a small park occupied the site for several years.

By 2011, offices had been built on site.

Cinema Treasures

Until March 2025 home to the Sky call centre.

Further down the road the former Wellington Hotel.

Known variously as Ups ‘n’ Downs, Glitz, Bentley’s and the Bees Knees.

Finally, partial occupation by a forlorn Pound Shop – defying economic trends by closing.

Street art by Cats and That.

Next to the Transport Interchange aka the Bus Station.

In collaboration with Transport for Greater Manchester and Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, the project redesigned a 10,000 sq m bus interchange, linking the rail station with new landscaped parks. 

The development includes a fifteen-storey building with one hundred and ninety six apartments, commercial space, and parking. New parks and riverside spaces improve connectivity and enhance urban living, marking a transformative step in placemaking for Stockport.

BDP Design

Replacing the former Bus Station closed on Saturday 28th August 2021.

Down to the top of the Lowry Steps

LS Lowry snapped in 1962, the Viaduct in the not too distant distance – Grade II* listed structure and remains one of the world’s biggest brick structures.

Railway viaduct opened 1840 by GW Buck for Manchester and Birmingham Railway in brick and stone.

Twenty eight arches of total length over 540m – three spans at either end of 18ft, twenty two spans between of 63ft, and nearly 34m high above the river.

Said to contain eleven million bricks.

Stone moulded impost bands and rusticated faces to piers.

Took 21 months to build, at a cost of £72,700.

Widened to the west 1888 to 1889.

Historic England.

Down on the corner the former George Hotel.

Premises To Let as of 13th May 2018 – on the 2nd April 2018 the licence has lapsed, so this proved to be a barrier to it re-opening.

A former pub in Stockport town centre could be knocked down to make way for a tower stretching 17-storeys high. Plans have been sent to Stockport council for consideration and would bring 76 new apartments to the town replacing The George on Wellington Road, based opposite Merseyway Shopping Centre and near Stockport Viaduct.

MEN November 2025

Across the way the Heaton Lane Car Park is now rubble.

It is to become the site for the re-sited bus depot, as the current bus depot is demolished to make way for housing.

Though Place North West reports in August 2026:

Talks over a deal for a bus depot off Daw Bank have broken down after the council refused to meet the operator’s financial demands, prompting the authority to use compulsory purchase powers to acquire the site.

Despite protracted negotiations, Stockport Council and Stagecoach have failed to reach an agreement over an important piece of land the authority needs to deliver Stockport 8, a £350m, 1,300-home regeneration scheme.

Leaving Wellington Road we head for the Merseyway Precinct – 1965 architects Bernard Engle & Partners.

Where we find the Alan Boyson screen wall, screening the multi storey car park, now no longer above the Co-operative store, but above Primark.

Next in line the new occupants of Adlington Walk – Stockport’s fabulous Stockroom.

Stockroom is an exciting new creative and cultural centre in Stockport, designed for getting together, getting involved or just popping by for a brew. It has been developed with and for local people and the creative community to build an exceptional communal resource for entertainment and learning.

There’s room for everyone: to make noise, meet friends or find some peace, play, take part, think or do new things.

Part of Stockport’s £1 billion transformation, Stockroom is an ambitious £14.5 million cultural and creative centre that will breathe new life into the heart of the town.

Located in previously disused retail units, Stockroom has been brought to life through funding from UK Government’s Future High Streets Fund, which aims to rejuvenate town centres across the country.

The Stockroom have hosted a tribute to Alan Boyson, the exhibition The Marvel from Marple.

Otherwise open to access the Library service and archives, eat drink and play, use a computer, or a lavatory, read whilst relaxing in a comfy chair, stay cool or warm, stare into space either upstairs or downstairs.

Whatever floats your personal boat, though currently unsuitable for floating actual boats.

Mention must be made of near neighbours the Merseyway Workshop – the plant planters who we met up at Stopford House.

The Merseyway Workshop is a community focused, inspiring place for innovation and collaboration.

A DIY-style hub on Stockport’s pedestrianised high-street. Offering open use of creative workshops, drop-in activity sessions and skill exchanges.

Working in clay and wood, access to a fully equipped B&W darkroom and so much more.

One short mile or so a cornucopia of history – layer upon layer of exciting architecture.

Get out take a walk take a look!

Bradford Interchange

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So here we are back in Bradford – updating elements of the 2020 walk.

Arriving right on time from Manchester Victoria at the Bradford Interchange.

First a little history,

Image – Disused Stations

The original railway station, named Bradford Exchange, was opened by the joint efforts of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and the Great Northern Railway on 9 May 1850. The railway station with its 10 platforms was deemed too large and was again rebuilt, this time on a different site slightly further south.

Wikipedia

The Interchange was designed in 1962, it was hailed as a showpiece of European design when it opened in 1971.

Architects WC Brown Borough Architect and RL Moorcroft BR.

The bus station featured a large ridge and furrow design of overall roof, which was subsequently demolished in 1999 to allow for a rebuilding of the bus station, which was opened in 2001.

Further down the line, the plans of 2020 are yet to be realised.

So the curved and tented canopy is still in place, with the addition of seating in the newly landscaped plaza area – designed by Fereday Pollard.

The area has replaced the former taxi rank and drop-off point, and has new paving, seating and planters.

Designs include a new pocket park, plaza and interiors, all formed as a high quality welcoming visual amenity whilst repairing the disparate components which form the backdrop of the proposals. In the plaza, a kaleidoscope of colours is complemented by a grid of generous planters with integrated seating and vibrantly coloured furniture to create a celebratory and flexible meeting space. The ‘Colours of Bradford’ introduce clarity and joy, with the new plaza serving as an extension to the station concourse, allowing meeting and dwell space to interact with the city and onward journeys. Reinforcing the moor to meadow narrative of our original scheme, the new pocket park creates a pollinator park, encouraging and promoting a connection with the wider surrounding landscape of Bradford and combined with the Tower of Now, pays tribute to the rich and varied cultures found in Bradford.

Fereday Pollard

With Bradford awarded the UK City of Culture 2025, and an expected 15 million visitors during its year of celebrations, the city is ready for its moment in the spotlight. As part of these exciting developments, Bigg Design and Fun Makes Good are transforming Bradford’s main bus and rail interchange with super-scale, multi-surface artworks that will create an exciting, welcoming gateway to the city.

Bigg Design

Their design work not a million miles from the prints and paintings of Richard Paul Lohse.

For me, this lower concourse always seems to have echoes of Jean-Luc Godard’s film Alphaville.

There are no special props or futuristic sets: instead, the film was shot in real locations in Paris, the night-time streets of the capital becoming the streets of Alphaville, while modernist glass and concrete buildings – which in 1965 were new and strange architectural designs, represent the city’s interiors. 

Up the steps to the bus station.

University of York – RIBA pix

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Following my previous visits to the University of York, recording the history and the Fred Millett Reliefs, I have searched the RIBA pix archives to find further images.

They mainly illustrate the Derwent and Langwith Colleges – both built using the CLASP system of construction.

The University of York was founded in 1963 and work on its campus facilities in the grounds of Heslington Hall was begun in 1964. The first two colleges, Langwith and Derwent, accepted residential students for the autumn term of 1965. The original buildings were designed by Sir Andrew Derbyshire of Robert Matthew Johnson-Marshall & Partners, and assembled using the CLASP system of prefabricated construction.

RIBA

Derwent College: one of the two covered walkways linking the college buildings with sculptural relief by Fred Millett at the far end.

Photographs 1965 – Reginald Hugo de Burgh Galwey.

Derwent College: a concrete panel sculptured by Fred Millett.

Derwent College.

Photographs 1965 Keith Gibson.

JB Morrell Library.

Derwent College: a covered walkway over the lake.

Central Hall.

Photograph 1972 Bill Toomey.

Vanbrugh College: stepped roof to the covered way leading down to the lake.

Photograph 1972 Peter Bairstow.

Derwent College and Heslington Hall.

Photographs 1965 – Reginald Hugo de Burgh Galwey.

Langwith College, seen from the lake.

Langwith College.

Photographs 1965 Bill Toomey.

David Brown Laboratories: the flue stack.

David Brown laboratories: the water tower.

Photographs 1965 – Reginald Hugo de Burgh Galwey.

Derwent College.

Derwent College.

Langwith College: close-up of the oriel windows.

Photographs 1965 Bill Toomey.

Derwent College: a concrete sculptured screen flanking a covered way.

Derwent College: a concrete sculptured screen flanking a covered way.

One of several concrete link bridges.

Another of the several concrete link bridges.

Photographs 1965 – Reginald Hugo de Burgh Galwey.

David Brown laboratories: seen from one of the link bridges.

David Brown Laboratories: the flue stack and water tower rising above the laboratory blocks.

J. B. Morrell Library: the central staircase and lift tower.

Photographs 1965 Keith Gibson.

Central Hall.

JB Morrell Library, University of York, seen from the south side of Heslington Road with linking pedestrian bridge and ramp in foreground and cast aluminium sculpture by Austin Wright

JB Morrell Library: the covered pedestrian bridge linking the library to the southern side of the campus.

JB Morrell Library.

JB Morrell Library: the main entrance and terrace.

JB Morrell Library: the issue counter seen from the second floor.

JB Morrell Library: viewpoint from the fourth floor.

The covered pedestrian bridge linking the southern side of the campus to the JB Morrell Library on the north side.

Langwith and Derwent Colleges.

Derwent College and Heslington Hall.

Photograph 1965 Henk Snoek.

Wigan Walk – 2026

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It’s been four years since our 2022 Wigan Walk – so time to see if there has been a refreshing change.

Beginning with a trip to the former flicks, the Princes Cinema now trading as Pure nightclub, sometimes home to Singo Bingo.

Originally the site of New Princes Theatre, opened on the 1st May 1911, the cinema was demolished and replaced, on an adjacent plot, by Princes Cinema in 1933.

Onward now to see the three Telephone Exchanges.

Interwar

Sixties

Ofd special note the adjacent Electrical Substation of the day.

Plus extra added military history.

Seventies

Tucked in behind the Telephone Exchange are several streets of Edwardian social housing – the Spring Gardens Scheme of 1905.

The property is practically paying its way, and all the present generation has to find is a small sum of ninety odd pounds for sinking funds. For this we get fifty-nine families decently housed, the rateable value of the town increased, a slum abolished, an eyesore removed, the health of the inhabitants remarkably improved, their environment made clean, refined, and elevating, whilst our successors in 1959 will inherit an unencumbered estate.

Municipal Dreams

Next to the Wigan Post Office Sorting Office 1959.

Next we take a look at the Bus Station.

Wigan’s original bus station was on Market Square.

Image Wigan World

It was demolished in 1985 as part of a wider redevelopment of the town centre to make way for the Galleries Shopping Centre. A new bus station, built at a cost of £2.3 million, began construction in April 1986, and opened in November 1987.

Wikipedia

Transport for Greater Manchester commissioned Austin-Smith:Lord to design a replacement nineteen stand £15.7m bus station in Wigan Town Centre, the project was completed in October 2018.

Construction images – Bee Network.

Around the corner to the Wigan & Leigh College.

The original building of 1954 by Howard V Lobb G Grenfell Bains & Hargreaves, with later extension.

There have been several phases of redevelopment and new build in recent years.

This block of the Technical School has been demolished since my last visit.

Thomas Linacre Technical School for Boys mural 1954.

Image – RIBA pix

Across the road the former Grammar School.

Wigan Grammar School was founded in 1597 and closed in 1972, as part of the comprehensive education movement.

It then became Mesnes High School, and subsequently Wigan College’s Mesnes Building in 1989. 

Since 2003, it has been known as the Thomas Linacre Centre and is an out-patient department for the Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust.

It was designated a Grade II listed building in 1997.

Architect: A E Munby

DJ Russ Winstanley was a former pupil, here he is in 1975 at the Wigan Casino holding up a copy of Footsee by Wigan’s Chosen Few b/w Seven Days Too Long by Chuck Wood.

On Millgate we find the former Wigan Civic Centre.

Once it was all boarded up with nowhere to go.

Subsequently resuscitated by Capital&Centric.

Across the way the new Library and Life Centre by Astudio and LCE Architects.

Down the road is the recently refurbished Leisure Centre.

Built on the site of the International Swimming Pool – opened 1968 demolished 2010.

Across the way to Scholes Comprehensive Development 1964

Five thirteen-storey tower blocks adjacent to Douglas House in Scholes were approved in 1964. Lower-rise housing and flats spread to the east. In 1968, a further 13-storey block, Boyswell House, was built at this eastern end of the Scholes Comprehensive Development Area. Almost 500 slum houses, housing 566 families, were demolished that same year and 581 new council homes completed.

Municipal Dreams

Image – Tower Block 1987

Next to the Roger Booth cop shop that became a Premier Inn.

A super-comfy bed, blackout curtains, a powerful shower and free Wi-Fi – our double rooms have everything you’ll need for a great night’s sleep.

Next door the Wigan & Leigh Courthouse 1992 Wigan MBC Architect.

Relief figure of justice by Christine Ward.

Onward to Brocol House – currently home to the Job Centre

Image – Wigan Peers

Originally built for the Inland Revenue one the site of the Brewers Arms – has the welcoming charm shared by the majority of Ministry of Works buildings of the period.

Nearly done – up the road to the County Playhouse.

Which masquerades as Ibiza.

The club’s atmosphere is defined by thumping music and a vibrant crowd eager to dance and celebrate. Its modern interior design complements the lively ambience, creating an inviting space for locals and visitors alike.

Construction began on the County Playhouse in 1916. However, due to a shortage of materials and labour during World War I, it was not completed until 1919.

Finally opened on 22nd December 1919 with The Hun Within – starring Dorothy Gish.

The County Playhouse closed on Sunday 13th November 1966 with Disney’s “The Sword and the Stone”. It was taken over by the Leeds Based Star Cinemas chain and they converted it into Star Bingo and Social Club opened on 24th November 1966.

MAS sales store 1982 – Frank Orrell Photography

The building has since been used as a discount store and Playhouse Club Café. It then became home to the 1,200 capacity Pure Nightclub. In the early-2000’s it became the Ibiza nightclub. The Pure nightclub move into the former Princes Cinema

Cinema Treasures

Time for a swift half in The George to end your tour?

Great for a local pint one of the cheapest in Wigan I believe, slightly rough at times but no fights just real local people who are generally friendly. Proper drinking gaff, and karaoke on certain nights.

Use Your Local

Dolphin Leisure Centre – Poole

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Kingland Rd Poole BH15 1TN

Poole Dolphin Leisure Centre offers a modern gym with sixty stations, four pools including a main, teaching and diving pool, plus award-winning swimming and diving lessons. Enjoy casual swims, fitness sessions and a wide range of group classes for all ages. After your workout, relax in our sauna and experience fitness, fun and wellbeing all in one place.

I can’t speak for the facilities, or their general cleanliness, I don’t swim or have much time for leisure.

Walking around looking at things, taking pictures, chatting and such is my lifestyle choice and preoccupation.

So here’s a snapshot of the centre’s exterior, with particular attention paid to the concrete relief.

As an aside the nearby Dolphin Shopping Centre was once known as The Arndale.

In 1957 discussions began about creating a covered in shopping centre in the heart of Poole town centre, in a similar vein to those popular at the time in America. In 1963 property developers were invited by Poole Corporation to present schemes to develop this shopping centre as part of a redevelopment of the town.

The winning scheme was for a two million pound redevelopment by the Arndale Property Trust on land at High Street, Seldown Lane and Kingland Road] known as the Ladies Walking Field. One of the main reasons Arndale won was that their proposal incorporated a fully enclosed shopping centre. The scheme was to be designed by Leslie Jones and Partners in association with Geoffrey Hopkinson; Poole Borough Architect and Chief Planning Officer, the structural engineers were to be Bowden Sillett and Partners and the main contractors were to be Sir Lindsay Parkinson and Company.

The transformation of Poole Town Centre started in June 1966 when work began on a new road layout and construction of the shopping centre commenced in March 1967 when the then Mayor of Poole, Alderman Ron Hart, dug the first turf.

Bournemouth Echo

In 1989 an eight million pound refurbishment programme was carried out on the centre, which emerged with a new name ; The Dolphin Shopping Centre.

In February 2025, reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete RAAC was found at the shopping centre. The final Beales department store in the UK will close at the end of May 2025.

Wikipedia

To ensure the shopping centre remains popular and well occupied, the owner LGIM Real Assets is investing in the redevelopment of the internal malls and various retail buildings within the site. Designed by tp bennett, a programme of refurbishment is underway with the aim of delivering a more exciting and modern retail experience to help attract shoppers and retailers. The scheme includes new stores for H&M, New Look and JD Sports as well a new mixed-use leisure development, with a multiplex cinema, restaurants and a refreshed public realm.

It will be a huge transformation and there is a real local desire for it.

Says tp bennett’s James Painter. 

Part of wider improvement works in Poole, it is hoped that this major investment will enhance the customer experience, and reinforce the centre as a popular, family-friendly retail and entertainment destination.

Hamtun Street Mural – Southampton

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The large and colourful mural in Hamtun Street in Southampton’s Old Town charts the history of the city from Roman Clausentum and Saxon Hamwic, to the modern docks and football.

Created in 1978 by influential artists Henry and Joyce Collins,

The mural was commissioned by Sainsbury’s to decorate the façade of their supermarket in Lordshill, Southampton.

The 19m long and 3m high mural consists of thirty seven concrete and glass mosaic panels depicting landmark buildings and iconicevents from Southampton’s history. 

Thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the mural was cleaned and restored by ceramic artist Oliver Budd.

Artist and conservator Oliver Budd creates and restores mosaics for public and private commissions. Budd Mosaics was set up in 1960 by Kenneth Budd, a contemporary of Henry and Joyce Collins. Kenneth invented the technique of prefabricating mosaics in the studio on aluminium mesh panels.

By July 2011 it was installed at Hamtun Street in the heart of the Old Town.

Tudor House and Garden

Here it is with Castle House in the background.

Southampton Mural 2013.

A cross-section of the local community helped create a new mural depicting contemporary Southampton. The design was inspired by ideas from young people at Prince’s Trust, residents of Ironside Court, parents from St. John’s School and local people who attended mosaic workshops led by artist Joanna Dewfall.

Joanna Dewfall’s design captures the city’s iconic buildings, maritime industry and present-day life. The border, made during mosaic workshops, contains themes from past and present celebrating Southampton’s cultural diversity.

The new mural is located on Castle Way, round the corner from the Hamtun Street Mural.

My first encounter with the work of Henry and Joyce Collins, was on the side of the former BHS in Stockport.

I have subsequently visited their work in Bexhill on Sea.

Newcastle upon Tyne

And Cwmbran.

William Mitchell Liverpool

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Walking the streets of Liverpool?

Time on your hands wondering what to do?

Take a look at the work of William Mitchell!

Sculptor and designer, born in London 1925, where he continued to live. Studied at Southern College of Art in Portsmouth, at Royal College of Art and at British School in Rome; was an Abbey Award-winner. Went on to lecture widely and was a member of the design advisory board, Hammersmith College of Art and Trent Polytechnic. Also did work for Concrete Society and completed a frieze for Swiss Cottage Library.

artuk.org

First stop is 29 Hope street – where we have been before – william-mitchell-liverpool.

Federation House – 1965-66 Gilling Dodd & Partners

Originally home to the National Federation of Building Employees Investments.

Now how in part to The Shandon Bells – named for the chimes of St. Anne’s Church in Cork.

The church is noted for its eight bells, immortalised in the song The Bells of Shandon by Francis Sylvester Mahony. The largest weighs a little over one and a half tons and was originally cast by Abel Rudhall of Gloucester.

They first rang on 7 December 1752.

Church of_St_Anne Shandon

Curiously for an Irish themed pseudo-pub the exterior fascia is modelled on the Design Research Unit’s Watneys identity.

Here are some interiors of the then Coffee Moose from 2022

Next we’re off to liverpool-metropolitan-cathedral-of-christ-the-king.

The cathedral’s architect, Frederick Gibberd, was the winner of a worldwide design competition.

Construction began in 1962 and was completed in 1967.

William Mitchell designed the concrete relief below the bell, two front and two side doors.

Before the fire.

A woman has been charged with arson following a fire at a cathedral.

The blaze damaged doors and the gallery at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral on Mount Pleasant in the early hours of 29 May 2022.

A 35-year-old woman was charged with arson and possession of a controlled drug and remanded in custody, Merseyside Police said. 

The blaze did not enter the main part of the cathedral but caused smoke damage inside the building. 

There were no injuries in the fire.

BBC

Rendall Building – University of Liverpool

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Rendall Building by Bryan & Norman Westwood, Piet & Partners 1964-6

Named after Gerald Henry Rendall who was an English educator and college administrator.

He was principal of University College Liverpool.

We have been here before at liverpool-university, exploring the space betwixt and between the two cathedrals.

On this occasion, I wish to draw attention to this relatively small but perfectly formed building – #432 on your maps.

Westwood, Piet & Partners were well-known architects during the post-war period in Britain and built a body of varied work including army barracks, retail and theatre design. An example of their work is the Congress Theatre in Eastbourne – Grade II* listed.

Photo Theolimeister

Originally built to accommodate the arts library and lecture rooms on the south campus as the University grew to accommodate larger numbers of students.

The current use as lecture and seminar rooms maintains the building’s use as a key learning space on campus.

Located in an area of the southern campus where Westwood, Piet & Partners designed four blocks resulting in a group which Pevsner described as the

Most coherent and satisfying part of the precinct. The massing and materiality of the external is complementary and respectful to the surrounding Georgian buildings.

Click to access University,of,Liverpool_Campus,Built,Heritage.pdf

Sculptural concrete panels above a brick base.

Between the concrete is ‘dalle de verre’ stained glass by Gillian Rees-Thomas.

she was also responsible for the side chapel windows at St Mark’s Broomhill Sheffield.

The courtyard contains a sculpture by Mitzi Solomon Cunliffe – The Quickening previously located behind the School of Architecture.

Somebody at the University of Liverpool saw Mitzi’s work at the Festival of Britain and took note. She was immediately commissioned to create three items for the University: a public sculpture to go in the courtyard of the School of Civic Design’s new building, a decorative sculpture for the inside the building and the handles for its front-door.

The public sculpture, is in the form of a hand gently holding a dove. It stood in its original position for sixty-nine years until sent away for conservation and then relocated across campus in 2020, to outside the Rendall Building.

The other sculpture that Mitzi created for the building is easily the spikiest thing in our art collection. ‘Loosestrife’ is a number of tentacle-like arms that intertwine and project outwards. For many it looks like an assemblage of golden deer antlers but it may be based on spires of the flower called loosestrife.

Currently on display in the Victoria Gallery & Museum

‘Loosestrife’ had been recorded on its arrival as being made of bronze and had turned completely black over the years, probably because it was hung in an area where students smoked back in the day. When it was removed from the School of Civic Design building in 2018 and sent for cleaning, it was revealed to actually be made of brass. It is very heavy and takes four technicians with lifting gear to hang it for display.

mitzi-cunliffe-behind-the-mask

Mitzi was also responsible for the door handles across the way at the School of Civic Design.

Cardiff University

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Sir Martin Evans and Tower Buildings

Lead architect Ivan Dale Owen of Sir Percy Thomas & Partners also responsible for the site’s 1960 masterplanning.

He then spent over a year working for Walter Gropius’s practice, The Architects Collaborative, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.He returned to Britain, where he became a senior architect/planner with William Holford & Partners in London, where he worked on plans for the reconstruction of London after the war.

He returned to Wales with health problems and in 1958 was hired by Percy Thomas & Son as an associate in their Cardiff office. By 1964, Percy Thomas & Son had become Sir Percy Thomas & Partners and Owen had become a partner. He changed the philosophy of the practice, transforming it with a contemporary modernist style.

Wikipedia

1970 Internet Archive

We have previously encountered his work at both Aberystwyth, Bangor and Swansea Universities.

Rio Architects worked with Cardiff University designing visually attractive, innovative and cost-effective buildings. The Rio team are enthusiastic and dedicated, taking time to meet the client Departments at all stages of the project to ensure that an informed and good working relationship is developed and maintained the innovative design of the new podium development for the School of Bioscience incorporates hexagonal shaped glass panels was developed in conjunction with Solaglas.

Ian Lomer

Director of Estates Development, Cardiff University

Arts and Social Studies Library designed by Faulkner-Brown Hendy Watkinson Stonor 1976

RIBA pix Josephine Reid

Music Department 1971 Alex Gordon Partnership.

RIBA pix Stanley Travers

Three Obliques – Walk In is a 1968 sculpture by Barbara Hepworth. Three casts exist; two are in private collections and a third is displayed outside the Cardiff University School of Music.

It is cast in bronze on a monumental scale.

Wikipedia

University of York – Fred Millett Reliefs

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Having previously posted a history of the University of York’s Modernist architecture – here’s further information regarding Fred Millett’s concrete reliefs.

Fred Millett 1920–1980 was an English muralist, poster artist, and teacher at the Polytechnic of Central London. A number of his surviving works were commissioned by large British institutions including London Transport, London County Council and National Westminster Bank. The University of York commissioned Millett to create over 20 concrete relief panels that were to be integrated within the modular architecture of the Derwent and Langwith Colleges.

Millett’s panels created a cohesive group of works while also being distinctly different from one another due to the use of a variety of textures, geometric shapes and negative space. Larger, more detailed works follow the main covered walkways through Derwent College leading to Heslington Hall.

Under construction in November 1964. Photo: © Borthwick Institute for Archives:

Smaller, less detailed works were placed near accommodation blocks and laundry rooms which suggest that they were intended for the individual enjoyment of the students who live within the College rather than a university-wide viewing experience.

In a 1973 interview, Sir Andrew Derbyshire, who was the first project architect for the university, lamented that the project could not afford better finishes for the CLASP panels – such as adding white marble aggregate – but he did appreciate their appearance in bright sunlight or when they “glisten[ed] in the pouring rain.” Asked about the integration of the Millett sculptures to enliven the panels, he stated: “Yes. Well, that was an attempt. I would have liked it to have gone a bit further than that.” 

Written by Molly Bunter

This was my first visit to the campus, and having discovered the first of the reliefs, I cantered around from block to block, like a giddy one penny child in a seaside arcade – wondering where to look next.

Modern Mooch is saturated with set concrete here is a link to untold riches.

Charing Cross Station – Glasgow

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Dating from 1886, it was originally part of the Glasgow City and District Railway, the first underground railway in Scotland, and as such the station is built below the surface of the surrounding streets. The station was built using the cut and cover method, with the original walls being visible on the open air section at the western end of the platforms.

In 1968 it was demolished due to it being in the path of the new Glasgow Inner Ring Road, and the surface access to the station was moved to its eastern end, with a new surface building constructed as part of the Elmbank Gardens office complex in 1971 – the building was designed by the Richard Seifert & Partners.

Wikipedia

I was there in 2024 to photograph the Charles Anderson mural.

Constructed in situ – one third has now been removed at the northern end

Charles Anderson studied drawing and painting at Glasgow School of Art under David Donaldson, Mary Armour etc, graduating with Diploma in 1959.  The following year he entered  The Royal Scottish Academy painting competition for Post Graduate students and  won the Chalmers Bursary.  Joan Eardley – one of the adjudicators- took a keen interest in his work and encouraged him to exhibit at the RSA the same year. 

Following a period of five years teaching art,  He worked as a professional mural painter and sculptor for the next thirty years on major art and design projects throughout the United Kingdom, carrying out commissions for  a wide variety of clients including local authorities, property developers, banks and major insurance companies.    His most prestigious commission to date was the result of winning a national sculpture competition to provide a  bronze figurative group  which is entitled “The Community”  for Livingston New Town in 1996.  In early 1997  he returned  to the painting of easel pictures and  contributed to the annual exhibitions of The Royal Glasgow Institute, the Royal  Scottish Society  of  Painters in Watercolours, The Royal Scottish Academy and The Paisley Art Institute. He has works in various private collections throughout the U.K. and abroad.

Charles Anderson Art

The £250m transformation of the Charing Cross area of Glasgow has been given the go-ahead.

The project including new homes, student accommodation, hotel space and local services has been approved by Glasgow City Council.

Developers CXG Glasgow also plan to knock down the 300 Bath Street office building, which bridges the M8 motorway.

Further detailed applications will need to go before the council for approval before the Charing Cross Gateway project can begin.

BBC 2024

Northern Quarter Car Park – Manchester

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Here we am again two years on, following my previous visit.

It seems that you are not long for this world – destined for an ultra elevated multi-storey heaven.

An eyesore Northern Quarter car park is to be demolished to make way for a new development. Four new public squares will be built, the council has announced.

MEN

Glenbrook’s proposal for the 1.5-acre site, designed by Tim Groom Architects, will feature 20% affordable provision, in line with the city council’s aspirations.

The new neighbourhood will also feature four public squares and green spaces, a flexible community and gallery space, and commercial units for local independent businesses and food and beverage outlets.

“The Church St site represents a unique opportunity in the heart of the Northern Quarter, a neighbourhood and community that is alive with energy and creativity, and Glenbrook is delighted to play an important role in its future growth,” said Ian Sherry, director at Glenbrook.

Place North West

In this bang up to the minute computer generated image, it seems that the art work Big Boys Toy will be preserved.

Taken down from its top spot above the Tib Street stairs and service tower.

The remainder, one assumes, descends to the ultra modern land of land fill.

Here’s one that someone made earlier.

Ta-ra my aromatic and neglected old pal.

Other Manchester car parks are available.

Peterlee Town Centre

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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?

Apollo Pavilion – Peterlee 2025

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Apollo Pavilion Oakerside Drive Peterlee County Durham

Second time around for the Victor Pasmore Pavilion – having been here in 2021.

Children sitting on the Apollo Pavilion 1973 © The Pasmore Estate

The idea for the Apollo Pavilion was the culmination of Victor Pasmore’s involvement with the planning and design of the new town of Peterlee in County Durham which began in 1954 with his appointment by AV Williams, the General Manager, as a consultant architectural designer to the Corporation. The brief was to inject a new initiative into the new town’s design, which had been limited by practical and financial constraints. The early departure of Berthold Lubetkin from the original design team, and the limitations imposed by building on land subject to underground mining, had led to a deterioration in the quality of the architecture being produced at Peterlee.

Peterlee Gov

Victor Pasmore in front of the grafitti-covered Apollo Pavilion © Durham Record Office

The Apollo Pavilion, created by Victor Pasmore in 1969, is designated at Grade II* for the following principal reasons: Architectural interest: the structure is of very high architectural quality, forming the centrepiece of a registered landscape Artistic quality: the only truly three-dimensional work by the internationally known artist Victor Pasmore, the Pavilion is an abstract work of art, a demonstration of Constructivist ideas on a large scale and an expression of brutalist architecture Setting: the setting of the structure is the centrepiece of the registered Pavilion Landscape and as such survives intact.

Historic England

Saturday 20th September was a day of persistent rain, we arrived by bus and walked undeterred to the site – here’s what we saw.

Many thanks to Euan Lynn for leading this Modernist walk.

Stafford Walk

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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.

Abbey Walk Car Park – Grimsby 2025

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Here we are again, six years after the first visit.

What’s been happening hereabouts in the interim?

The Abbey Walk car park was built in 1969 by Holst & Company of Scunthorpe at a cost of approximately £200,000. Whilst a key asset for the town centre, the car park was closed in May 2024, after structural defects were found. This was water ingress into key structural supports, making the car park potentially unsafe to use.

It has now been approved to proceed with plans to demolish the car park, and replace it with a 120-space surface car park, but with the capability in the foundations of being built on in future years if needed.

But what of the unique concrete relief panels, you may ask?

The four abstract concrete reliefs depict parts of a car, which were inspired by drawings in the handbook of the artist’s Austin Cambridge estate car, and were installed when the building was constructed.

Designed in the 1960s by artist and sculptor, Harold Gosney, having been asked to carry out the car park commission by the architects, Nicholson and Rushton.

These panels were cast in situ, with metal bars running through them, which were integral to the car park structure, which is likely to make removal of the artwork incredibly difficult.

NE Lincs

Last month, it was confirmed conservationists from the University of Lincoln had 3D scanned the sculptures to create digital 3D models to preserve them.

Grimsby Telegraph 

Photo – BBC

Which is all well and good, but will they ever be really remade and reinstated anywhere?

Only time will tell.

In 2023 the car park stairwell was transformed by young people from the local area, as part of a project by North East Lincolnshire Council and local artist Lynsey Powles, to try to tackle graffiti and anti-social behaviour.

Abbey Walk multistorey car park in Grimsby has been the site of a number of incidents of anti-social behaviour and graffiti in recent years.

NE Lincs

The demolition and subsequent construction will cost between £1.5m and £2.5m, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Queens Hotel – Monsall/Collyhurst Manchester

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Sedgeford Rd Manchester M40 8QU

I have been here before, notably, as recored on my Manchester Estate Pubs site.

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:

Blackburn Walk

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Arriving at the Railway Station

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.

Wikipedia

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.

Blackburn Past

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.

Cinema Treasures

By July 2018 it was known as Switch.

Across the way The Central Hall.

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.

Cinema Treasures

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.

Wikipedia

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.

Roving Mick

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.

Lancs Live

On the approach to Birley Street we walk through a mixed development of low rise housing, set in grassed and pedestrianised areas.

Birley Street Tower Blocks

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.

Pastscape

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.

Archello

Tucked away this mosaic panorama of the town.

Newspaper House – once the home to the Lancashire Telegraph, converted to apartments in 2017.

Finally to the Garde II* listed Blackburn Cathedral church – 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.

Crown of Thorns by John Hayward.

Lantern stained glass 1999 by Linda Hadfield, formerly Walton.

Further work by John Hayward.

Josefina de Vasconcellos

Sunderland Museum

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Burdon Rd Sunderland SR1 1PP

In 1879, the Museum moved to a new larger building next to Mowbray Park including a library and winter garden based on the model of the Crystal Palace. US President Ulysses Grant was in attendance at the laying of the foundation stone by Alderman Samuel Storey in 1877, the building opened in 1879.

During World War II, Winter Garden was damaged by a parachute mine in 1941 and demolished the following year. A 1960s extension took its place, but in 2001, a lottery funded refurbishment of the museum created a new Winter Garden extensionand improved facilities.

Wikipedia

Built in 1879 by local architects J & T Tillman, the museum building is Listed Grade II and was the first civic museum to be purpose-built outside of London.

I have been unable to find any attribution for the 1960s extension, built in the Festival of Britain style.

The panels, on the rear elevation, were by Walter Hudspith, then Senior Lecturer at Sunderland College of Art. They were the first examples of public art to be commissioned in Sunderland and were made for the building’s 1962-64 extension; they represent music, art and literature. The panels were restored by Lesley Durbin at the Jackfield Conservation studio in 2000-01.

Twentieth Century Society

The tiles represent literature, art and music

The distinctive waved concrete canopy was constructed by council worker Fred Davis in 1963.

One day I was travelling south from Tyneside and I realised this was what I had always been looking for.

LS Lowry 1960 The Wear

Ellen Wilkinson Humanities Building

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Second time around, following my post in 2019.

A terminal halt on the Campus Capers walk.

Taking a walk around town on an overcast and intermittently showery Friday, we’re all here again.

Sat at home on an overcast and intermittently showery Monday, I took a walk around online archives.

1962 to 1963 Photos: Local Image Archive

The inner courtyard was originally paved, subsequently grassed over.

The lack of sunlight has resulted in the grass becoming both waterlogged and moss-bound.

As a former TMBC maintenance gardener I recommend raking out, aeration and a top dressing of light river sand as a remedy.

Ribapix 1964

The William Mitchell concrete panels are of a modular design, rotated to form distinct groups of horizontal and vertical rhythms. A number of the buildings elevations are clad in linear, diagonal and vertical forms, though the majority are curvilinear and organic.

Local Image Collection 1972

The Ellen Wilkinson building, home to Education and Communication, is one of the few buildings on campus named after a woman. She gained the nickname of ‘Red Ellen’ in her political career, due to her socialist politics and vibrant red hair colour.

Wilkinson was a successful Labour party politician and feminist activist, and a passionate and bold personality in the Houses of Parliament. She was made Minister of Education under Clement Atlee’s government, making her the second woman to ever get a role in the British cabinet. She was brought up and educated in Manchester, making her legacy on the Manchester campus even more significant.

Mancunion

Ellen Wilkinson is a large sized building with three blocks. There are six floors in C Block, five floors in B Block and seven floors in A Block.

There are three lifts and six main staircases within the building.

The floors are signed as Ground, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. This is slightly different inside the lifts where control buttons are marked as 0 instead of Ground.

There are link passages from A and B Block to C Block on levels Ground, 1 and 3.

The building was the work of George Grenville ‘GG’ Baines and Building Design Partnership.

This scheme pre-dates Wilson Womersley’s appointment as masterplanners for the Education Precinct but exists harmoniously with the later series of buildings. This is most likely due to the method of development before any ‘grand concept’. The incremental expansion of the University, following WWII, was largely dictated by the progress of compulsory purchase orders; this group was no exception. At the planning stages, the lack of a masterplan led to organising the wings of the buildings in an open, orthogonal arrangement. This would allow expansion in a number of directions, according to the next available site in ‘the dynamic situation’. The result was the creation of a small courtyard flanked by two five-storey blocks and a two-storey structure. All three buildings use the same pink-grey concrete. The plastic qualities of concrete were explored in both cladding and structural panels and the textural qualities exposed in the bush hammered columns, to reveal the Derbyshire gravel aggregate. The sculpted and moulded panels on the two-storey block and on the gable ends of the larger blocks were designed in collaboration with William Mitchell. The only other materials in the external envelope were the windows of variously clear and tinted glass. The window modules were set out against a basic geometry in three standard patterns and applied across the façade. This resulted in a clever interplay of vertical and horizontal expression. Phase II, a seven-storey teaching block, was not as refined in its details.

Mainstream Modern

if you have a moment to spare, why not ascend and descend the spiral stairway.

The seating area is almost intact.

This trio of abstract concrete forms, a B&Q Barbara Hepworth, has defied attribution, I adore it.

Similar curved panels have also been used at The Bower – Old Street London.