Bridgewater House was built as a shipping warehouse in 1912 to a design by Harry S. Fairhurst. It is built around a steel frame with a cladding of sandstoneashlar and white glazed terracotta in a large rectangular plan, with a loading bay at the rear. The building has eight storeys and a basement and 19 bays. The lower two floors are of stone, and the upper floors are of terracotta. Above the doorways are profile medallions of the Duke of Bridgewater.[1] According to the architectural historian Clare Hartwell, Fairhurst's huge buildings are "steel-framed and built to high-quality fireproof specifications".[2] The builders were J. Gerrard & Sons Ltd of Swinton.[citation needed] The authors of the Buildings of England series state that "Fairhurst's design revolutionised the business of loading and unloading goods and twenty-six lorries could be dealt with simultaneously using a drive-through system".[3]
The building was constructed for Lloyd's Packing Warehouses Limited and, like many warehouses, was built to a common design with steps to a raised ground floor with showroom and offices. The first floor contained more offices, waiting rooms for clients, and sample and pattern rooms all decorated to impress customers. The working areas above were plain with large windows to allow in natural light. Orders were packed there and sent to the basement on hoists powered by Manchester's hydraulic power system and packed into bales using hydraulic presses before dispatch. The warehouse was lighted by gas.[4]
21st centuryedit
By 2012, the building had been converted to offices and was owned by Bruntwood.[5] In 2022, Renaker sold Bridgewater House to Watch This Space, a property developer. As of 2023, plans to convert the building into 53 apartments had been submitted to Manchester City Council.[6]
bridgewater, house, manchester, other, buildings, with, similar, name, bridgewater, house, bridgewater, house, packing, shipping, warehouse, whitworth, street, manchester, england, recorded, national, heritage, list, england, designated, grade, listed, buildin. For other buildings with a similar name see Bridgewater House Bridgewater House is a packing and shipping warehouse at 58 60 Whitworth Street Manchester England It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building 1 Bridgewater House Whitworth Street Manchester The doorway of Bridgewater House Contents 1 History 1 1 20th century 1 2 21st century 2 See also 3 ReferencesHistory edit20th century edit Bridgewater House was built as a shipping warehouse in 1912 to a design by Harry S Fairhurst It is built around a steel frame with a cladding of sandstone ashlar and white glazed terracotta in a large rectangular plan with a loading bay at the rear The building has eight storeys and a basement and 19 bays The lower two floors are of stone and the upper floors are of terracotta Above the doorways are profile medallions of the Duke of Bridgewater 1 According to the architectural historian Clare Hartwell Fairhurst s huge buildings are steel framed and built to high quality fireproof specifications 2 The builders were J Gerrard amp Sons Ltd of Swinton citation needed The authors of the Buildings of England series state that Fairhurst s design revolutionised the business of loading and unloading goods and twenty six lorries could be dealt with simultaneously using a drive through system 3 The building was constructed for Lloyd s Packing Warehouses Limited and like many warehouses was built to a common design with steps to a raised ground floor with showroom and offices The first floor contained more offices waiting rooms for clients and sample and pattern rooms all decorated to impress customers The working areas above were plain with large windows to allow in natural light Orders were packed there and sent to the basement on hoists powered by Manchester s hydraulic power system and packed into bales using hydraulic presses before dispatch The warehouse was lighted by gas 4 21st century edit By 2012 the building had been converted to offices and was owned by Bruntwood 5 In 2022 Renaker sold Bridgewater House to Watch This Space a property developer As of 2023 plans to convert the building into 53 apartments had been submitted to Manchester City Council 6 See also edit nbsp Greater Manchester portal Listed buildings in Manchester M1References editCitations a b Historic England Bridgewater House Manchester 1270606 National Heritage List for England retrieved 27 September 2012 Hartwell 2002 p 207 Hartwell Hyde amp Pevsner 2004 p 335 Warehouses Whitworth Street School of Mechanical Aerospace and Civil Engineering Manchester University Archived from the original on 11 March 2012 Retrieved 1 October 2012 Bridgewater House Bruntwood Retrieved 27 September 2012 Whelan Dan 5 July 2023 Renaker tables plans for Manchester s tallest building placenorthwest co uk Place North West Retrieved 5 July 2023 Sources Hartwell Clare Hyde Matthew Pevsner Nikolaus 2004 Lancashire Manchester and the South East The Buildings of England New Haven and London Yale University Press ISBN 0 300 10583 5 Hartwell Clare 2002 Manchester Pevsner Architectural Guides Yale University Press ISBN 978 0 14 071131 8 53 28 30 N 2 14 24 W 53 4751 N 2 2400 W 53 4751 2 2400 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bridgewater House Manchester amp oldid 1163563853, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
