Category: Architecture

Park Hill, Barrowford, Lancashire

This year I have had an enjoyable time working with Ruth Darling, and Laurie Cooper on a number of Lancashire and Greater Manchester projects.

This afternoon we met up at the Pendle Heritage Centre which is remarkable for its diverse scenery and vernacular beauty. The Centre is a preserved riverside farmstead called Park Hill comprising houses, barns, stables, woodland and gardens.

These photos were all taken a few yards from each other before our meeting.

Victorian Society Visits Accrington

Yesterday, Gillian Berry, of Haworth Art Gallery, and I hosted the annual tour of the Victorian Society Northern Building Committee, which this year came to Accrington.

At Haworth Art Gallery

On the morning, Gillian showed our visitors around the Haworth Art Gallery which is located at Hollins Hill, a large Walter Brierley designed Arts & Crafts house. It has a super collection of nineteenth century paintings and the finest museum of Tiffany glassware in Europe.

 

One of the Tiffany vases on show

On the afternoon, we toured Accrington town centre which has a wonderfully coherent townscape and some great Regency, Victorian, Edwardian and Modern era architecture. Highlights were the Red Lion Coaching Inn, Accrington Market House, Riley’s Arcade, Peel Institute, now the Town Hall, and Accrington Carnegie Library.

H. G. Hillier designed Arts & Crafts stair window, J. & M. Wade designed art nouveau tiles and staircase ironwork at Accrington Carnegie Library.

We then looked around the just completed projects of the Accrington THI, where architects Dominic Roberts and Dino Kotlar showed off their wonderful restoration of The Exchange, with its extravagant two-storey shop front.

Francis Roberts Architects’ drawing of the restored Exchange

Everyone had a wonderful time!

St. Martin’s Church, Low Marple, Cheshire is open for Heritage Open Days

For Arts & Crafts Movement lovers, St Martin’s Church, Low Marple, Cheshire will open for two days of Heritage Open Days.

Friday 18 September 2020, 14.00-18.00

Saturday 19 September 2020, 10.00-15.00

St.Martin’s Church, Brabyns Brow, Marple Bridge, Marple, Stockport SK6 5DT

Next to Marple Railway Station.

Covid-secure arrangements observed.

Saint Martin’s Church is a blend of early and high Arts & Crafts design. The main part of the church was built around 1870 by John Dando Sedding while the famous Lady Chapel designed by his successor, Henry Wilson, is a ‘high period’ Arts & Crafts design of 1895-1905.

The church contains a series works by famous artists – William Morris, Dante Gabrielle Rosetti, Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Ford Maddox Brown and Christopher Whall.