Blackfriars House, Manchester
Design work completed in 1923. Simplified neo classical style. Base with horizontal rustication, the main middle section and the top two storeys. Prominent cornice emphasised the horizontal division of the building. Skilful use of a semi-circular bay at Blackfriars Street. In Britain still the use of an over-scaled Classicism whereas America was developing a new style of architecture in which tall buildings were designed as towers
BLACKFRIARS HOUSE THE PARSONAGE - HANDSOME ADDITION TO CITY’S ARCHITECTURE - Blackfriars House, that towering Portland stone giant which seems to stretch out the hand of friendship in the cause of commerce to the petulant neighbours, Manchester and Salford, marks the crest of a wave of building reconstruction and architectural advance in Manchester that promises to transform it into the most beautiful commercial city in Britain. It is impossible to name one important street where rebuilding has not been going on in recent years, or is not at present in process, whilst great schemes are approaching fruition that will produce magical changes in the older parts of the commercial quarter. The necessity is, of course, mainly due to the long war years , when building work was at a complete standstill. But the wonderful architectural standard that is being insisted upon in nine cases out of every ten is a product of a continuous campaign through the past two decades by the press and the artistic leaders, aided by the growth of advertising science, which insists that the first necessity of business is an attractive warehouse, factory, or showroom to bring the customer to. It is generally agreed to-day, that money spent on rebuilding and re-fitting to a high artistic standard is an investment, and we see the result in Manchester that year by year grows more worthy of her national importance, more beautiful and more bright.
In the present case, the Bleachers Association have been actuated by the double purpose of providing a worthy headquarters for their own powerful and important concern, and of producing a building worthy of possibly the finest site the city has to offer, for it must not be forgotten that he dignity of Manchester is a big and essential factor in the moulding of all the great textile firms' plans. The designing of the Blackfriars House was placed in the hands of Mr Harry S Fairhurst, ARIBA, of 14, Chancery Lane, Manchester, who has so admirably served the city's interests in commercial architecture for many years, and the building stands to-day as a monument to the wisdom of the association's choice. Mr Fairhurst has here indulged no irresponsible or fanciful notions: he has taken the modern standard of steel construction and the great English tradition of Portland stone architecture, in which all the country's great buildings have been carried out, and combined them in a beautiful and harmonious structure that will for many decades to come be the city's pride.
It is interesting to note that London can boast a new building that is in many ways similar to Blackfriars House. This is the Adelaide House, built at the Thames side adjoining London Bridge, but designed as in the Manchester case, to rest no weight on the bridge fabric itself. In both buildings the apparent ground floor is at the bridge level, thought he lower floors have an uninterrupted outside view on the river side, due to the falling away of the land to the river level. Both structures illustrate the feasibility of carrying structures well up beyond the ordinary building height on sites facing rivers and permanent open spaces, where there is no danger of interfering with the light of adjoining properties. There is even a slight resemblance in the architectural styles of Blackfriars and Adelaide Houses in the avoidance of sham classic columns and other piecrust devices intended to disguise the obvious fact of their steel construction. Our Manchester structure can more than hold its own in any detailed comparison with its Metropolitan counterpart, which fact is a very great compliment to Mr Fairhurst in as much as Adelaide House has earned the unqualified praise of many great architects.
Blackfriars House is built eight storeys high, counting the parsonage level as ground floor, though there are two floors below this with clear outlook over the river. The respective heights are 115 feet on the Parsonage side and 152 feet on the river side, so that the building is almost the tallest in Manchester. The foundations had to be taken down below the river bed to the actual rock, and here the main contractors, Messrs, J Gerrard and Sons, of Swinton, successfully conquered the first of many difficulties that unexpectedly cropped up in the course of the work, for the river rose to its highest level for many years while this difficult operation was in progress. Water had indeed to be fought all through the building work, both from the river, and from adjoining properties, and two Pulsometer pumps were kept working continuously during the excavating operations. On the river side a retaining wall was built in reinforced concrete to an average depth of twenty-eight feet below the lowest floor of the building, going some fifteen feet below the river bed. The walls on this side are of concrete to basement height, and then of engineering bricks to the ground floor level. The whole superstructure of Blackfriars House is carried out in Portland stone, with a base of granite, so that the building looks equally beautiful and impressive from every side, and adds to the architectural wealth of both Manchester and Salford. Care has been taken to avoid putting any weight on the actual structure of Blackfriars Bridge, and this was finally achieved by carrying the stanchions at the north-east corner up and bracketing them out. As an additional precaution the building adjoining the bridge is set back about two feet from the first floor up. Despite the many unlooked-for difficulties Messrs. Gerrard had to meet in the course of the work, Blackfriars House has been built well in advance of scheduled time and it is expected that the building will be ready for service in September.
The outstanding feature of the actual design is its successful utilisation of the unique daylight possibilities offered by the site, which is open on three sides. Mr Fairhurst has divided the width of the building into three sections of almost equal width, the two outside sections forming offices, lighted respectively from the river and from the Parsonage, and the centre section, save for the portion fronting Blackfriars-street which forms another light office, is used for staircases, lift, areas, anterooms, lavatories and similar purposes. This scheme is carried out on every one of the seven floors, and results in a building of wonderful brightness considering its huge bulk. The main entrance in the Parsonage, carried out with simplicity and dignity, gives access into a large vestibule, a main hall very admirably decorated and furnished, and an inner hall, a luxurious provision worthy of one of the city’s proudest buildings, and an ingenious solution to the problem of leading the visitor plausibly to the lifts and main staircase, which, as explained, are in the centre section of the building. There are three passenger lifts provided with anterooms.
A curious feature of the exterior design is the Blackfriars-street frontage where the semi-circular bay forms a very unusual and attractive section. When the old Blackfriars Hotel was demolished, the Corporation took over part of the frontage for the purpose of road-widening, and the re-arrangement of boundaries left an awkward triangular front here which offered a puzzling problem to any architect, the apparent alternatives being to waste the sharp angle of land, or to throw the whole design of the building out of balance by its inclusion. The idea of the semi-circular bay very cleverly disposed of the difficulty, and what might have been a bad spot in the design has been converted into one of its most ingenious features. It will be noted that the main facade has had to be slightly set back to give the bay the geometrical completeness necessary to its artistic success.
It is proposed to let five floors of offices in Blackfriars House to outside firms, the Bleachers’ Association retaining the top four floors for its own use. Every possible convenience and provision has been made for the efficient running of the building, including the most modern heating, ventilation, and lighting plant, two passenger lifts and one staff lift, reception rooms and ante-rooms, and the usual domestic and sanitary offices. The provision that commercial Manchester will best appreciate is the fitting up in the "basement" of a meeting hall, to be let for company meetings and similar affairs. This has been a deeply-felt want for some years, and the well-designed, oak-panelled room will undoubtedly play an important part henceforth in the city’s business life. [Manchester City News 18 July 1925 page 8-9]
Reference Manchester Guardian Saturday 4 April 1925 Page 9
Reference Manchester City News 18 July 1925 page 8-9
Reference Builder vol 130 Jan-June 1925 Illustration Page 49?
