Manchester Architecture part one

Feast or famine. Or rather famine then feast. Isolated behind the Pennine hills from the main north-south communication routes, Manchester and Lancashire took a long time to jump on the roller-coaster of architectural fashion. Aside from some bits and pieces of Roman and Prehistoric ruins, and vestigial Norman traces, such as a repositioned arch in Middleton parish church, there’s little to show until well after the Norman Conquest.

Another absolute gem is Heaton Park (1772-8) by James Wyatt with masterful interiors by a variety of craftsmen. Disgracefully allowed to decline by the city council this is on its way back, paradoxically with the help of the city council, to something resembling its original state.

This starts to change in the 1300s and 1400s. There’s a lot of work remaining from the Perpendicular style of English Gothic architecture – that national passion for the vertical line. This can be traced in numbers of churches but most importantly in Manchester Cathedral which also provides some of the best late-medieval wood-work in the country. Ashton Parish Church, St Michaels, to the east meanwhile has a sequence of stained glass based on the life of St Helen’s from the same period which is also nationally important.

Given that churches were often altered perhaps the most evocative buildings from this period are the manor houses, places such as Ordsall Hall and Bramall Hall with their timber frames. The magical great hall of Ordsall with its long vertical spere trusses is definitely worth seeking out. Several rare timber churches remain in the region too such as St Lawrence in Denton.

Secular stone buildings start to appear at this time such as Chetham’s (stone – first half of the 1400s) in the city centre. Brick, which will become a dominant building material, makes a grand entry on to the scene with Hough End Hall (brick - 1596) in Chorlton. As prosperity in the region rose sturdy stone houses appear on the fringes of the region too particularly on the Pennines, such as Hey House (1616), Holcombe and Clegg Hall (possibly 1618), Milnrow.

Thus far in the built history of Greater Manchester all of the work away from the churches had been unburdened by a style (in otherwords a particular regime of building such as Gothic or Classical). Hough End in its plan and Clegg Hall with dinky Classically inspired columns in the porch show this is starting to change. Previously secular buildings were simply places built to fit the local climate in practical ways that also lent prestige to the owners. In all of these buildings it’s hard to discern the ego of an architect, in fact we almost never know the architect’s name – architects were at the time craftsmen, not part of a rarefied profession. The result is that these are almost organic structures that in terms of atmosphere and charm have never been beaten.

By the 1700s that had changed. The Classical style appeared in Manchester on St Ann’s Church (1709-1712) by John Barker with Corinthian columns and pilasters. Of course not all the sweetness has disappeared. Foxdenton Hall, in Chadderton (1710-30) is a sole survivor of the Yeoman house and it’s lovely. Platt Hall (1763-4) by Timothy Lightoler is less so but gives us a taste of Palladianism although Alkrington Hall in Middleton is a grander version. This last work was by James Leoni who also rebuilt the far more impressive Lyme Park with its especially gorgeous courtyard.

Another absolute gem is Heaton Park (1772-8) by James Wyatt with masterful interiors by a variety of craftsmen. Disgracefully allowed to decline by the city council this is on its way back, paradoxically with the help of the city council, to something resembling its original state. Georgian terraces have rarely survived although St John Street in the city centre is decent example. There are more examples of one-off Georgian town houses such as Cobden House (1770) on Quay Street, a very large residence with good surviving interiors – now barristers’ chambers.

Numbers of pre-industrial system houses with workshops illuminated by long rows of windows on the top floor remain in the area – the earliest surviving buildings of the humble to survive. The Pennine fringes of Greater Manchester make an especially happy hunting ground for such these buildings particularly the villages of Saddleworth.