Architecture

I always enjoy seeing this corrugated iron store on a farm at Little Soudley alongside the Shropshire Union Canal.

Scoreboard at Hilton Park, Leigh, 20th July 2008. Leigh went on to beat Batley 18 - 17. All now under housing.

The Old Courthouse on Moorlands Road, Burslem is another terracotta gem. I have been unable to find when it was built, but it looks to me like 1890s. It was restored c2009 to provide 2,700 sq ft of new office space for small hi-tech creative companies. The use of the apostrophe suggests that there was only one magistrate but I suspect that there were several.

Bell cupola over the gateway into Enoch Wood's Fountain Place Pottery in Burslem. Wood was in business here from 1784 until 1846.

Burslem School of Art was opened by the Mayor, S Gibson, in 1907. It was designed by local architect A.R. Wood who was also responsible for Tunstall Town Hall and the builders were W Grant & Sons. It is listed Grade II. At one time the building became the local library and has now become part of a sixth form college.

The Vernon Mill at Portwood, Stockport was designed by architects Joseph Stott and Son with the foundation stone laid on 31 October 1881. Built for the Vernon Cotton Spinning Co., Stockport, Limited, it was the first limited liability cotton mill to open in Stockport. In 1891 there were 150,000 spindles, 458/558 weft,. 308/428 twist. The Bank of England set up the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1929 to attempt to rationalise and save the industry. Vernon Mill was one of 104 mills bought by the LCC, and continued in that ownership until 1964 when it passed to Courtaulds. It is now listed Grade II and is occupied by multiple businesses including a gym, a boxing gym, and various art studios. It was purchased by ZS Properties (Mcr) Ltd in October 2018.

Former warehouse of millers Hosken, Trevithick, Polkinhorn & Co Ltd at Truro. Now flats. The Hosken family had been corn millers in Cornwall since the 18th century. The business thrived throughout the 19th century but the succession to William Hosken was a worry to him. Negotiations were held with the Trevithick brothers witha view to a partnership and at the same time the ambitious Samuel James Polkinhorn of Truro married into the Rosewarne family who were related to the Hoskens by marriage Just five months after the death of William Hosken in 1890, the largest conglomerate ever formed in Cornwall emerged. It was complicated and led by a number of men who didn’t really know each other, nor how to run the business. Sam Hosken, the most respected director, was made the unwilling chairman but seldom attended a meeting. The other directors were Trevithick brothers on one side and the Hosken camp, including Rosewarnes and Polkinhorns by marriage, on the other; they would never agree. Years later, John Rosewarne described the family-controlled feudal company as an unholy alliance. Buoyed up by shareholders’ cash and incredible borrowings, the business continued until 1936 when Spillers bought the milling side and the trading name. It continued in the hands of the same Hayle-based families for a further 40 years as Farm Industries Ltd.

Built in 1904 this former hotel in Leeds makes an eyecatching statement in terracotta. Some idiot has painted the facia at ground floor level. The matching chimneypots are a bonus.

This magnificent beast is found on the top of the former Kings Theatre on Trinity Street in Gainsborough. Opened as the Albert Hall in 1885 it was renamed the Royal Albert Hall in 1891 and screened the first films in the town in December 1896. By 1909 it was a cinema named the Kings Theatre and since then has had mixed fortunes. Repertory and variety theatre replaced films in 1958 and then bingo from 1992. Bingo ended in 2015 and the building has since been renovated but remains empty.

Claremont Buildings, Eldon Place, Newcastle upon Tyne. Built in 1896 by W. Hope for Fairless Harrison, tanner, as shops and offices. The building was extended at the side in 1905. It is listed Grade II.

Draycott Place in Chelsea was built in the 1890s. The individual pairs of entrances are all to a slightly different design with extravagant terracotta ornamentation. My guess is that the terracotta was supplied by Doulton.

The entrance block to the Castle Arcade off High Street in Cardiff. Built in 1887 in cream brick, I thought at first that the decorative work was in terracotta but closer inspection shows it to be painted bath stone. It is listed Grade II*.

This is a well known public house in Cross Street, Manchester. Opened in 1867 by Thomas and Sarah Studd the facade was rebuilt in 1901 in buff terracotta. It is listed Grade II.

The Italian colonial influence is obvious in this view of the interior of the central post office in Asmara, Eritrea. It was completed in 1916.

There aren't many listed buildings in Cleator Moor, but this late 19th century block on High Street drew the attention of the historic buildings officers. It is listed Grade II. Business was not particularly thriving.

Ceramic tiles panels on 58 High Street, Leicester. This is a shop premises dating to 1903. The architect was A. E. Sawday for T. E. Butler, Son and Co., chemists. The Sea Breeze advert is a bonus. The building is listed Grade II.

Principality Buildings, Queen Street, Cardiff. Founded in 1860 in Cardiff by William Sanders as a mutual building society, the Principality Building Society is the largest building society in Wales and the sixth largest in the United Kingdom. In 1914 the Principality Buildings were built to house the society headquarters and this building remained in that role until 1992 when Principality House next door in The Friary was opened. The building still houses a branch of the Building Society whilst the rest is used for a variety of commercial activities including a restaurant and a Travelodge

The development of the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair during the late nineteenth century saw the installation of some very fancy terracotta panels carrying the street name and date of construction. This example from Mount Street is typical.