The beauty of Manchester

[Rascal]

BBC1 now....Gorton Monastery

Gorton Monastery is simply stunning. I was there a few months ago for a meeting and was surprised by how beautiful it actually is inside.

 

[somapop]

That’s my favourite city centre building n’all.

Derelict until 1996!
Incredible how Manchester had fallen quite low at that stage. Such a beautiful, prominent building that was sat dormant in Central Manchester.

It's an amazing place and I've taken many here over the last few years.

 

[mancityvstoke]

Derelict until 1996!
Incredible how Manchester had fallen quite low at that stage. Such a beautiful, prominent building that was sat dormant in Central Manchester.

It's an amazing place and I've taken many here over the last few years.

Knew loads who worked there in the 70's when it did insurance I think.

Refuge assurance?

The Refuge Assurance Company Ltd. was a life insurance and pensions company based in England. It was founded by James Proctor and George Robins in Dukinfield, Cheshire in 1858.[1] The company was originally known by the unwieldy name of the Refuge Friend in Deed Life Assurance and Sick Fund Friendly Society.

From 1895 until 1987, its head office was the magnificent Grade II* listed, Refuge Assurance Building on Oxford Street in central Manchester, now used as the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel.[2] In 1987, the company decided to move out of the city centre to new, purpose-built, offices in the grounds of Fulshaw Hall in Wilmslow, around 12 miles south of the old Refuge Building. In October 1996, the Refuge Assurance Company merged with United Friendly to form the United Assurance Group (UAG).[3]
After disappointing performances following the merger,[4] the United Assurance Group was first approached by Britannic Assurance in November 1999, and then by Royal London Mutual Insurance Society in February 2000.[5] Following successful talks, Royal London took over UAG for £1.6 billion.

 

[mancityvstoke]

During the 2nd World War my Uncle John was sent to South Africa to train as a pilot. While he was over there he met a local lass and became smitten. On completion of his training he gave her his address so they could exchange letters. She saw "Cornbrook" in his address and remarked that it sounded idyllic. He didn't have the heart to tell her what it was really like.

It's changed a lot but still too close to the swamp

 

[DT King of all Geordies]

My first job after leaving school in 1979 - joined on 2nd July and left in 1986 (before the planned move to Wilmslow).

Knew every inch of it (apart from the Director‘s offices on 2nd floor) because I had To deliver the memo’s from our dept (Field Staff) to all the other dept’s.

Beautiful building.

I had an interview there in 1986. Did not get the job!

 

[Deleted member 77198]

Strange one to add as one of my favourite buildings, maybe. But Strangeways is a cracker. The architecture is brilliant.







Designed by Alfred Waterhouse who also designed Manchester Town Hall, London’s Natural History Museum and the old Manchester Assize Courts.

 

[Hiley rated]

Taken from Holcombe Hill. Love how Manchester is almost surrounded by hills.

 

[City Hobgoblin]

View attachment 67617
Taken from Holcombe Hill. Love how Manchester is almost surrounded by hills.

AKA an 'embayment'

 

[KS55]

I used to live on the Merseybank Estate so Chorlton Water Park was my back garden, and the amount of litter around there used to get right on my tits. Especially after Friday nights when people would go there to drink and they’d leave all their cans lying around.

Could be very nice there but never quite was because of that.

I find Wythenshawe Park much cleaner. But it doesn’t have much water other than the Brook.

We did get a lot of bright green parakeets going between CWP and Southern Cemetary though.

As a kid I fell in that brook a million times.

 

[KS55]

The John Rylands library is probably my favourite building, but Manchester itself has some amazing architecture, if people bothered to look above shop level they’d see much of it is still there, and that’s before mentioning all the bridges around the locks etc, I fuckin love it.

My favourite building in Manchester was Spring Gardens post office which boasted the longest Victorian colonnade in the UK. So the Philistines knocked it down.