Darbishire House High Street/Upper Brook Street

Built t commemorate the work of the late R D Darbishire. Site at the junction of Upper Brook Street and High Street. Cost £4262

DARBISHIRE HOUSE: GOVERNESSES' INSTITUTION, MANCHESTER. - This institution is to stand at the corner Upper Brook Street and High Street, ChorIton-on-Medlock. It is opposite the site of the School of Domestic Economy, to be erected by the Corporation. The position offers great advantages, both for the residents and for the Employment Bureau, which forms such an important part of the work of the institution. The architects are Messrs. J. W. Beaumont and Son. The building will accommodate twenty-five residents in addition to the staff, and the total cost of the building complete with heating apparatus, electric light, boundary walls, and fencing, is £4,100: The cost of furnishing is extra, The building is so arranged that if the demand for accommodation increases in the future, twenty-three more residents could be provided for in a wing for which space is reserved at the back of the proposed new building. The new building is to be called "Darbishire House," as a permanent memorial to the late Mr and Mrs R D Darbishire, whose interest and sympathy were given in such generous measure to the Governesses' Institution during the' many years they were actively engaged in its management. The elevations are to be carried out with picked common bricks 2in. thick, and Portland stone for heads and sills of windows and copings, etc.; the roof will be covered with slates. All floors of corridors, kitchen, etc., are of fireproof construction, and covered with Terrazzo paving; the staircases are of Granolithic covered with pitch-pine treads and risers, etc.[Building News 9 September 1910 page 365].

Reference    British Architect, 29 July 1910 Page 72
Reference    Manchester Guardian Tuesday 26 July 1910
Reference    Building News 9 September 1910 page 365