The Kimpton Clocktower Hotel occupies the former Refuge Assurance Company headquarters. Its most striking feature is the two hundred and seventeen foot clock tower that terminates in a terra-cotta crown. When the building opened in…
Manchester Victorian Gothic Walk
This walk connects the magnificent neo-Gothic libraries, civic palaces, and soaring monuments built on Manchester's 19th-century industrial cotton wealth. See the sheer scale and architectural ambition of the world's first industrial city.
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1. Kimpton Clocktower Hotel
2. Manchester Crown Court (Minshull St)
The red brick facade of Manchester Crown Court on Minshull Street features a clock tower that dominates the corner, topped by a distinctive stone lantern. Opened in eighteen seventy-one, the building began as the medico-legal center of the…
3. Grand Pacific
The Reform Club building on King Street features a distinctive row of tall, arched windows stretching across its upper facade. Originally designed by Edward Walters in eighteen seventy-one, the structure served as a dedicated space for…
4. Manchester City Council
The Manchester Town Hall extension features a striking bridge spanning high above the street, connecting the main building to this annex. Architect Vincent Harris designed the structure in the nineteen thirties to house the city’s…
5. Albert Memorial
The Albert Memorial in Albert Square features a sandstone canopy sheltering a statue of Prince Albert. Queen Victoria herself chose the design to honor her husband, tasking sculptor Matthew Noble with the likeness. When it was unveiled in…
6. The Memorial Hall
Manchester Town Hall's Memorial Hall stands out for its high, triangular gable and the intricate sandstone carvings that wrap around its facade. Built in the eighteen sixties, it served as a tribute to the city's radical politicians who…
7. The John Rylands Library
The John Rylands Library stands out because of its dark, jagged sandstone towers that mimic a gothic cathedral rather than a typical scholarly building. Enriqueta Rylands commissioned the library in eighteen eighty-nine to honor her late…