Atlas Chambers, 98 King Street and Brown Street, Manchester

Massive ornamental bronze entrance to King Street façade surmounted by kneeling figure of Atlas with golden globe on his shoulders. Bronze plaque on corner with Brown Street with cartouche above this. On the corner of the building is a stone crest for the Manchester Assurance Company.

The new offices of the Atlas Insurance Company were built on the site of the Manchester Assurance Company, founded in 1824, and one of the first insurance companies in Manchester. In September 1927 the Manchester Guardian reported the demolition of the last surviving dwelling house in the upper part of King Street. This house has been acquired by the Manchester Assurance Company on 12 August 1824, on the establishment of that enterprise and remained its head office until 1904. In that year the company was taken over by the Atlas and with it 98 King Street, (numbered 33 King Street in its earlier days). It was purchased from Samuel Stocks the younger, merchant of Manchester and the son of William Stocks, linen draper of Huddersfield. Originally built as a dwelling house, the deeds of sale mention that the site also contained two warehouses, stable, coach house and other outbuildings. After its acquisition by the Manchester Assurance Company, the original doorway was replaced by an ornate main entrance, flanked by marble columns and surmounted by a sculptured head. Successive managers of the Manchester Assurance Company continued to live in the upper part of the building for many years. A survival from the early days was a fine Adam fireplace of carved wood which had been carefully removed before demolition and was intended to be re-erected in the new building to serve as a link with its forerunner.

A NEW BUILDING IN MANCHESTER – Professor C H Reilly – This photograph, showing the tall new building in King Street for the Atlas Insurance Company, next to the slightly older and still taller building – already darkening with smoke – for the Ship Canal Company, shows very clearly the damage these tall buildings are going to do to one another even when an attempt is made, as in this case by the designer of the Atlas building, Mr Michael Waterhouse, to pay some slight deference to their neighbours. It will be noticed that two of the cornices have been kept level with the corresponding cornices in the Ship Canal Building and that the new building at its top has been isolated from it. Obviously, however, such minor adjustments are not sufficient. Everyone will admit that the fine Canal Building has been considerably spoilt by its new neighbour, as indeed it as bound to be by any neighbour of nearly equal height. Further, I think that most people would also admit that a King Street full of equally tall but differing buildings would not only become a wind-swept ravine, but something of a nightmare. We are unfortunately accustomed to discordant buildings of the ordinary scale. To have them trebled in size on our chief streets is, however, an alarming prospect. Manchester, as the first and, as far as I know, the only English city at present allowing such tall structures, should clearly come to some decision as to which buildings should be allowed to go up and which should not. An occasional tall building – say one every quarter of a mile or so, - if treated as an isolated structure, would immensely enhance the skyline of the town and add romance and interest to whole districts. A welter of such buildings on narrow city frontages would make the chief streets of the town as ridiculous as is Wall Street, New York. It is obvious in this case what an advantage it would be to King Street as a whole if the new Atlas Building had stopped short of the colonnade of the Ship Canal Building. The latter, as a semi-public building, might have been allowed the prominence it deserved on architectural as well as other grounds. The Atlas building in itself, while it has some good detail about its base, has the unfortunate appearance of standing on stilts, which appearance is enhanced by the complete little structure, with its pedimented roof like a temple which crowns it. A triangular pediment is one of the strongest climaxes in classical architecture. Here it comes therefore as a very bad anti-climax to the Canal building and gives the appearance of the Atlas having vainly but rather officiously to compete with it. [Manchester Guardian 11 April 1929 page 9]

Reference    Manchester Guardian 16 August 1927 page 1 – advert
Reference    Manchester Guardian 16 September 1927 page 11 - demolition work
Reference    Manchester Guardian 11 April 1929 page 9 – C H Reilly with illustration