SOME NEW MANCHESTER BUILDINGS
In Manchester, as in other great cities, the scale of the buildings is rapidly increasing, and some of the newest structures will appear almost as intruders until such time as the buildings adjacent to them will have been replaced by others more in keeping with our modern standards. The handsome block erected by the Manchester Ship Canal Company to the designs of Mr. Harry S. Fairhurst, F. R. I. B. A., is no exception to this rule. In this case, however, there appears to be an unusually good justification for the imposing height of the structure, inasmuch as the Manchester Ship Canal Company has almost the character of a public institution. It is noteworthy that in this instance a particular Act of Parliament had to be passed in order that the building regulations in respect of the heights of street façades of the City of Manchester could be set aside. The building has nine storeys in addition to the basement, the topmost two
storeys being set back from the main frontage. The principal elevation, as seen from King Street, however, scarcely shows this attic at all, and all that is visible of it is the top of the parapet, which acts as a satisfactory background to the group of statuary surrounding the central portion of the collonade. This latter, comprising seven bays divided by coupled Roman Doric columns, is well designed, and forms, with its entablature, a fine crowning feature to the composition. The great cornice, although immediately associated with an Order of comparatively small dimensions, is yet related in scale to the building as a whole. The main horizontal position of the facade comprises three rows of seven windows enclosed in plain rectangular reveals, the only departure from the repetitive pattern being in the window immediately above the entrance doorway, which is elaborated by the addition of a stone balcony, archi BLACKFRIARS HOUSE, PARSONAGE, MANCHESTER.
Harry S. Fairhurst, F. R. I. B. A., Architect.
In Manchester, as in other great cities, the scale of the buildings is rapidly increasing, and some of the newest structures will appear almost as intruders until such time as the buildings adjacent to them will have been replaced by others more in keeping with our modern standards. The handsome block erected by the Manchester Ship Canal Company to the designs of Mr. Harry S. Fairhurst, F. R. I. B. A., is no exception to this rule. In this case, however, there appears to be an unusually good justification for the imposing height of the structure, inasmuch as the Manchester Ship Canal Company has almost the character of a public institution. It is noteworthy that in this instance a particular Act of Parliament had to be passed in order that the building regulations in respect of the heights of street façades of the City of Manchester could be set aside. The building has nine storeys in addition to the basement, the topmost two
storeys being set back from the main frontage. The principal elevation, as seen from King Street, however, scarcely shows this attic at all, and all that is visible of it is the top of the parapet, which acts as a satisfactory background to the group of statuary surrounding the central portion of the collonade. This latter, comprising seven bays divided by coupled Roman Doric columns, is well designed, and forms, with its entablature, a fine crowning feature to the composition. The great cornice, although immediately associated with an Order of comparatively small dimensions, is yet related in scale to the building as a whole. The main horizontal position of the facade comprises three rows of seven windows enclosed in plain rectangular reveals, the only departure from the repetitive pattern being in the window immediately above the entrance doorway, which is elaborated by the addition of a stone balcony, archi BLACKFRIARS HOUSE, PARSONAGE, MANCHESTER.
Harry S. Fairhurst, F. R. I. B. A., Architect.