|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
Manchester was the world's
first industrial city. It was here that the
industrial revolution came of age, and where
the spinning mule and the steam engine, the
heart of the British cotton industry, came together
for the first time. The area grew piecemeal
within a grid pattern of streets laid out in
the 1790s. Alongside the mills can be found
Manchester's first municipal housing (Victoria
Square), the Daily Express "black glass"
building and the Methodist Women's night shelter
(the Derros Building), all buildings of great
merit in their own right. At the centre of the
area is the landmark building of the Romanesque
church of St. Peter's, newly restored and acting
as a symbol of Ancoats' growing regeneration
from its former dereliction. Part of the area,
along with Castlefield, Worsley (in Salford)
and the canal network that links them, has been
included on the UK Government's shortlist of
tentative World Heritage Sites.
Select a size of map to view
depending on your screen resolution:
750
x 466 pixels (low resolution)
1000
x 621 pixels (med resolution)
1200
x 745 pixels (high resolution)
The 50-acre Conservation Area currently contains
thirteen listed buildings, seven of them Grade
2* with several further listings anticipated.
The majority of the listed structures are the
familiar Ancoats Mills (the factories of the
world's first industrial suburb) but the area
also includes examples of workers' housing of
all periods from the 1790s, pubs, churches and
a former primary school with rooftop playground.
In light of the World Heritage Site nomination,
it is particularly important that the best examples
of all the building types represented in the
area are conserved and brought back into use
to tell the Ancoats story.
Designed
by Issac Holden and consecrated in 1860, St
Peter's was created to mark a presence of the
established church in an area with a large population
- some 14,000 people lived in the 50-acre parish.
The church was of brick rather than the preferred
stone as it was built with charitable money
and there was a need to economise. The church
provided 1,350 sittings and the construction
cost £4,200 including the bell. The building
fell into disuse in the 1960s and was almost
completely derelict when ABPT took ownership
of it in 1998. A first-phase restoration project
was undertaken, with grants totalling almost
£500,000 from English Heritage, Eastside
Regeneration and charitable trusts but the building
remained a stripped-out shell. ABPT, however,
secured £1.5m from the Heritage Lottery
Fund and the Northwest Development Agency and
the full restoration of the church was completed
in June 2006. The building is now ready for
conversion to publicly accessible but financially
viable new uses. More
information on St Peter's
Old Mill (1798), Decker
Mill (1799), New Mill (1802), Murray Street
Block (1804), Grade II*
A
mill complex of international importance, associated
with the development of the steam-driven mule.
Subject of a successful £7m Heritage Lottery
Fund (HLF) application by Ancoats Buildings
Preservation Trust. Two parallel 6-7 storey
mills with side wings built around a courtyard
which contained a canal basin (formerly infilled
and now reinstated) linked to the adjacent Rochdale
Canal. The early steam power was supplied by
Boulton and Watt engines. The mill buildings
were restructured early in the 19th century
by replacing the double line of cast iron columns
with a single row (with various bracketry methods
to carry timber floor beams) to accommodate
larger machinery. In extremely poor condition,
the mills scored highly on English Heritage's
Buildings at Risk Register. The HLF project
began in September 2004, and was completed in
August 2006. The project comprised the shell
repair of building fabric and structure and
reinstatement of canal basin by ABPT. The complex
will be converted to residential, commercial
and leisure uses by Burrellinpartnership.
More
information on Murrays' Mills
|
Bengal
Street and Redhill Street,
1842 (Listed Grade II*) (Originally known as
Fire Proof Mill or Doubling
Mill)
This mill was an extension to the Murrays' Mills
complex and linked by personnel tunnels under
Bengal Street. The mill has recently been refurbished
and converted by Urban Splash to provide office
accommodation.
|
Jersey Street / Radium
Street/ Bengal Street, 1908 (Listed Grade II)
(Originally known as New Little Mill)
This building replaced an earlier mill of 1820.
Constructed in Accrington brick with concrete
floors, it is unusual in design for this area,
being more like the mills of Bolton and Leigh.
It was powered by electricity and is thought
to be Manchester's first mill to be run from
the Corporation mains system. The building is
currently vacant and in deteriorating condition,
but has been acquired by the NWDA to facilitate
its return to the market. It is possible that
the building may be converted into a multi-storey
carpark.
|
This
block of flats was opened in 1894 and was the
first building of the major re-housing scheme
that the Manchester Corporation undertook. The
building was intended for 848 people in 237
double tenements and 48 single. The flats had
internal bathrooms and the Square had shared
laundries with drying facilities in the top
rooms of the corner towers - an attempt to rid
homes of the damp air from drying clothes and
thus reduce bronchial complaints. The property
continues to be in local authority ownership
and now provides accommodation for senior citizens.
This
former Northern headquarters of the Daily Express
newspaper was designed by Owen Williams and
built in 1939. Originally it was possible to
see into the building to watch the huge presses
turning the daily editions of the Express. The
presses were stripped out and mirror film adhered
to the window as part of its conversion for
office use in the early 1990s. Immediately to
the left of the main entrance stood Whittaker's
Furniture Store, which was only demolished when
the building was converted to office use. When
first built, the Daily Express owners were unable
to purchase the Whittaker's site and thus had
to construct their building around it. This
new corner of the present building follows Owen
William's original plans.
|
The
Royal Mill Complex
is currently undergoing refurbishment and conversion
to mixed uses by a ING Real Estate.
Royal Mill Complex, includes:
|

a) Sedgwick Mill,
1818-20 (Listed Grade II):
This building was designed by James Lowe in
association with Sir William Fairburn. Of fireproof
construction, except for its timber roof, the
building contained an internal engine house.
It is now fully converted to residential and
business uses.
b) Sedgwick New Mill, Redhill
Street: Following the "cotton famine"
of the 1860s and the introduction of larger
mules, the more successful cotton firms needed
to expand their mills. Houldsworths of Newton
Street moved the whole enterprise to Reddish,
creating a company town. McConnel and Kennedy
of Ancoats internally reconstructed their existing
mills and added the L-shaped New Mill to avoid
relocation and keep the competitive edge of
their city site. It is now converted to residential
and business use.
|
c)
Paragon Mill, Jersey Street, 1912 (Listed
Grade II*):
This flat-roofed mill was built at the same
time as Royal Mill in 1912 as an extension to
Sedgwick Mill. It was driven by electric motor
from the Corporation mains and still has one
of the original motors in situ. It has concrete
floors carried on transverse steel beams and
cast iron columns. It is therefore very deep
in plan and structurally robust. The building
is currently 'mothballed'.
|
d)
Royal Mill, Redhill Street, 1912 (Listed
Grade II*):
Old Mill was demolished and in 1912 the Royal
Mill was erected on the site. It received its
name following a visit by King George VI in
1942. The construction and power system is exactly
as used in Paragon Mill. The building is currently
'mothballed'.
|
, 1824, Grade II*,
extended c. 1850:
Fireproof construction including oversized timber
beams and stone flag floors / ceilings. Erected
as a power and loom establishment rented to multiple
tenants. Also known as 'Sankey's', the building
was converted in 1996 to office / workspace accommodation,
predominantly aimed at the music industry. |
, c1860:
Originally built for the storage of fruit, vegetables
and fish, this Italianate warehouse had an attached
ice-making plant from which it acquired its
name. In the 1880s the immigrant Italian community
in Ancoats took great advantage from the Ice
Plant's surplus ice - for making ice cream.
Over 70 ice cream barrow businesses were founded
in houses in Ancoats (including the Granelli
brand) and several remain in small workshops
in the area today. Refurbishment and extension
proposals are currently under development.
|
, No.5,
Jersey Street, c1830:
A very attractive example of small-scale commercial
development with inset "taking in" doors
and protective rubbing strakes. For many years
it was home of Kirkham and Platt printers. Briefly
occupied by a manufacturer of street organs. It
has recently been repaired as part of the wider
'Sarah Village' scheme. |
:
For unknown reasons, this former Methodists' Women's
Night Shelter is known locally as the Derros Building.
The attractive Arts and Crafts style building,
with its half-timbered gable facing Great Ancoats
Street provided accommodation, sewing classes
and a coffee tavern. ABPT was involved in the
rescue and 'enveloping' of this building, which
has recently been converted into flats by, amongst
others, the Manchester Methodist Housing Association. |
Thanks to Ian Finlay for use of some of the above
photos. |
|
|
|
|
|
|