The Egyptian Room in Oldham is a fabulous food hall that’s well worth a visit and just a short walk from Oldham Central tram station. The ramen I had was particularly good but the other food looked very good as well. It was satisfying to see that Oldham was really perking up.
Secrets of Ancoats and New Islington. 10.30am Saturday 12 April, 10.30am Saturday 12 July.
What a change? Is there any place in the UK which has changed so utterly in the last ten years than this area? With a cracking interior visit inside one of the special buildings in Ancoats, we track the changes by strolling the streets, crossing canals and telling the stories. Book here: https://www.jonathanschofieldtours.com/secrets-of-ancoats—new-islington.html
Manchester‘s Town Hall Extension arcade has finally been liberated from its Heras fencing and tents and is again an asset for the city. Long may this remain. #mancitycouncil
Manchester Piccadilly to Oxford Road featuring Piccadilly Station (ex-London Road Station) this side 1862, London Road Fire Station (1906), former Municipal School of Technology (1902 and 1957), Vimto sculpture (1992), the functional rear grid of Orient House (1916), Noel Gallagher’s old gaff, India House (1906), Refuge Assurance Company now Kimpton Clock Tower Hotel (1893-1910), Oxford Road Station (1960). Get on board a tour with me on https://www.jonathanschofieldtours.com/calendar-of-tours.html
Manchester Piccadilly to Oxford Road featuring Piccadilly Station (ex-London Road Station) this side 1862, London Road Fire Station (1906), former Municipal School of Technology (1902 and 1957), Vimto sculpture (1992), the functional rear grid of Orient House (1916), Noel Gallagher’s old gaff, India House (1906), Refuge Assurance Company now Kimpton Clock Tower Hotel (1893-1910), Oxford Road Station (1960). Get on board a tour with me on https://www.jonathanschofieldtours.com/calendar-of-tours.html
Favourite Manchester Buildings: Part 3
Riverside House, Salford.
This is a lovely thing from five or so years ago, designed by Alford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) for Muse in their New Bailey development.
The 1890s Royal Veteran Tavern, close to the River Irwell, in the New Bailey area of Salford, was a tumble down wreck. Now it is a revitalised piece of genius with a perfectly matched partner. The ensemble makes for a modestly proportioned head-turner on the way into Salford from Manchester.
As AHMM say: ‘The footprint of the former Royal Veteran’s Tavern building occupies roughly half the site, and a new build addition, conceived as a mirror image of the old tavern, doubles this footprint to the south. The street facing facades of the existing building have been retained and restored, but the interior, which was failing structurally, has been removed. The project provides over 1400 sqm of office space with a proposed food retailer and riverside terrace at ground floor. The third floor of Riverside House is set back, allowing for a generous external terrace, which will serve as an informal function space and lunchtime amenity for the third floor tenants.’
This is such an excellent design complementing the handsome if unremarkable former pub. The use of oat coloured brick with the excellent turn on the River Irwell side plus with beautifully proportioned windows and the flamboyant roof makes for an entirely satisfying, human scale addition to the entrance into Salford and the exit from Manchester.
The skill here is made more apparent in comparison with the truly awful 2014 Premier Inn opposite which is the definition of drab and ugly. The grim materials in that building look as though they weren’t cheap but the clumsy massing make the place look like a twenty first century prison rather than a hotel. How it fails to talk to the river is a serious deficiency.
The Premier Inn is an annoying and depressing building whereas Riverside House is upl
‘Dream’ by Jaume Plensa on the vast and now landscaped slag heap of the former Sutton Manor Colliery. Perfect light (although) the work needs a bit of a scrub after 16 years. I’d also clear some of the trees from the top to create views. Not all the trees cleared just some to create view lines as you would have in the old Capability Brown gardens directing the gaze to landmarks, in this case across this part of Lancashire (using the traditional county name) and into Cheshire.
Blitz Beach, Crosby, scattered with the detritus from the bombing of Liverpool in WWII. Fascinating place with wave-carved bricks, tilework and cornices
Wet and wild Sourmilk Gill in the Lakes. So called as the rushing waters look like milk.
Sing Beetham, sing your melancholy note
Downlifting video @ctconsults_
Jonathan Schofield has been a registered Blue Badge Guide since 1996 and offers a wide variety of tours in this great city
