Manchester Town Hall

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Manchester Town Hall

Manchester Town Hall is a building in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
, England that houses Manchester City Council

Manchester City Council

Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is made up of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 wards....
. Completed by architect

Architect

An architect is trained and licenced in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e....
Alfred Waterhouse

Alfred Waterhouse

Alfred Waterhouse was an England architect, particularly associated with the Victorian era Gothic revival. He is perhaps best known for his design for the Natural History Museum in London, although he also built a wide variety of other buildings throughout the country....
in 1877, it is a fine example of Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian Era of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the period of Victoria of the United Kingdom reign from June 1837 to January 1901....
Gothic revival, featuring imposing mural

Mural

A mural is a painting on a wall, ceiling, or other large permanent surface....
s by Ford Madox Brown

Ford Madox Brown

Ford Madox Brown was an England painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often William Hogarth version of the Pre-Raphaelite style....
.

As filming is forbidden in the Palace of Westminster

Palace of Westminster

The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, in London, is where the two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom meet....
, Manchester Town Hall is frequently used as its "body double

Body double

A body double is a general term for someone who substitutes for the credit ed actor of a character in any recorded visual medium, whether videotape or film....
" in British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
political dramatisations.

The town hall became a Grade I listed building

Grade I listed buildings in Greater Manchester

See also*Architecture of Manchester*Conservation in the United Kingdom*Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester*List of tallest buildings in Manchester...
on 25 February 1952.

hester's original civic administration was housed in the Police Office in King Street

King Street, Manchester

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Encyclopedia

Manchester Town Hall is a building in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
, England that houses Manchester City Council

Manchester City Council

Architect

Alfred Waterhouse

Victorian era

Mural

A mural is a painting on a wall, ceiling, or other large permanent surface....
s by Ford Madox Brown

Ford Madox Brown

Palace of Westminster

Body double

A body double is a general term for someone who substitutes for the credit ed actor of a character in any recorded visual medium, whether videotape or film....
" in British

United Kingdom

Grade I listed buildings in Greater Manchester

See also*Architecture of Manchester*Conservation in the United Kingdom*Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester*List of tallest buildings in Manchester...
on 25 February 1952.

Old Town Hall

Manchester's original civic administration was housed in the Police Office in King Street

King Street, Manchester

King Street is one of the most important thoroughfares of the city of Manchester, England. Once the centre of the North West England banking industry it is now predominantly an affluent shopping area....
. It was replaced by the first Town Hall, to accommodate the growing local government and its civic assembly rooms. The Town Hall, also located in King Street at the corner of Cross Street, was designed by Francis Goodwin

Francis Goodwin

Francis Goodwin was an England architect, best known for his many provincial Church es in the Gothic revival style, civic buildings such as the first Manchester Town Hall and Macclesfield town hall , plus country houses such as Lissadell House, County Sligo ....
and constructed during 1822–25, much of it by David Bellhouse

David Bellhouse

David Bellhouse was an England construction who did much to shape Victorian era Manchester, both physically and socially.Born in Leeds, Bellhouse received no formal education....
. The building was designed in the Grecian style and Goodwin was strongly influenced by his patron John Soane

John Soane

Sir John Soane was an England architect who specialised in the Neoclassical architecture style. His architectural works are distinguished by their clean lines, massing of simple form, decisive detailing, careful proportions and skilful use of light sources....
. As the size and wealth of the city grew, largely as a result of the textile industry

Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution

With the establishment of overseas colony, the British Empire at the end of the 17th century/beginning of the 18th century had a vast source of raw materials and a vast market for manufactured goods....
, its administration outstripped the existing facilities and a new building was proposed. The King Street building was subsequently occupied by a lending library and then Lloyds Bank. The facade was removed to Heaton Park

Heaton Park

Heaton Park, covering an area variously reported as , , and is the biggest park in Greater Manchester, England and one of the biggest Urban park in Europe....
in 1912, when the current Lloyds TSB

Lloyds TSB

In January 2009, Lloyds TSB Group changed its name to Lloyds Banking Group. This article is now about the brand Lloyds TSB which is still operated as part of the Lloyds Banking Group....
building was erected on the site (No 53 King Street).

Design and construction of the new building

The site chosen for a new town hall was an oddly shaped triangle and, of the 136 entries in open competition for the design, Waterhouse's exploited the constraints in the most practical and imaginative way. Despite its medieval styling, the building was designed to support the practical bureaucratic technologies of the 19th century. There was even a warm-air heating system.

The building exemplifies the Victorian Gothic revival style of architecture, using themes and elements from 13th-century Early English

English Gothic architecture

English Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520. As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, Vault roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires....
. The choice was influenced by the wish for a spiritual acknowledgement to Manchester's heritage in the textile trade of the Hanseatic league

Hanseatic League

The Hanseatic League was an Military alliance of Trade cities and their guilds that established and maintained trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe, from the Baltic Sea to the North Sea and inland, during the Late Middle Ages and Early modern period ....
and also an affirmation of modernity, the fashionable gothic style being preferred over the classical architecture

Classical architecture

Classical architecture is the set of building styles and techniques of Classical Greece, as used in ancient Greece, the Hellenistic period, and the Roman empire....
favoured in neighbouring Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool [] is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a History of borough status in England and Wales in 1207 and was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1880....
. The exterior, of spinkwell stone, is decorated with carvings of important figures in Manchester's history. The interior is made of multi-coloured terracotta

Architectural terracotta

Terracotta, in its unglazed form, became fashionable as an architectural ceramic construction material in England in the 1860s, and in the United States in the 1870s....
by Gibbs and Canning Limited

Gibbs and Canning Limited

Gibbs and Canning Limited was an England manufacturing of terracotta and, in particular, architectural terracotta, based in Glascote, Tamworth and founded in 1847....
. The painted ceilings were provided by Best & Lea of Manchester, who had also provided the ceilings in the Natural History Museum in London, also designed by Alfred Waterhouse.

Construction started in 1868, at a cost of GBP

Pound sterling

----The pound sterling , subdivided into 100 pence , is the currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown dependency and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and British Antarctic Territory....
one million, comprising fourteen million bricks.

The new building had been championed by radical mayor Abel Heywood

Abel Heywood

Abel Heywood was an England publisher, Radicalism and sometime mayor of Manchester.Starting work at nine-years old, Heywood was an energetic autodidact who, following a summary dismissal by his manufacturing employer, set up a penny reading room in Manchester....
and his notoriety entailed Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was from 20 June 1837 the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and from 1 May 1876 the first Empress of India of the British Raj until her death....
's refusal to attend the opening.

Entrance

The entrance overlooks Albert Square

Albert Square, Manchester

Albert Square is a public plaza in Manchester, England.It lies in front of Manchester Town Hall and features the monuments:* A canopied memorial to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha by architect Thomas Worthington , with a figure of Albert by Matthew Noble ...
and features twelve exterior statues executed by the firm of Farmer & Brindley

Farmer & Brindley

Farmer & Brindley was a firm of architectural sculptors and ornamentalists based in London, founded by William Farmer and William Brindley , who contributed to some of the greatest structures of the Victorian era....
, including:

Gnaeus Julius Agricola
Gnaeus Julius Agricola

Gnaeus Julius Agricola was a Roman Empire general responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Roman Britain. His biography, the Agricola , was the first published work of his son-in-law, the historian Tacitus, and is the source for most of what is known about him....
, founder of the Roman
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
fort of Mamuciam in year 79;
Henry III of England
Henry III of England

Henry III was the son and successor of John of England as King of England, reigning for fifty-six years from 1216 to his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester....
;
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was List of English monarchs and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the House of Tudor....
; and
Saint George
Saint George

Saint George of Lydda was according to tradition, a Roman soldier in the Guard of Emperor Diocletian, venerated as a Christian martyr.In Hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Anglican Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, and the Eastern Catholic Churches....
.

In the entrance hall are statues of:

James Prescott Joule
James Prescott Joule

James Prescott Joule Fellow of the Royal Society was an English physicist and brewing , born in Salford, Lancashire. Joule studied the nature of heat, and discovered its relationship to mechanical work ....
, by Alfred Gilbert
Alfred Gilbert

Sir Alfred Gilbert was an England sculpture and goldsmith who enthusiastically experimented with metallurgy innovations. He was a central ? if idiosyncratic ? participant in the New Sculpture movement that invigorated sculpture in Britain at the end of the nineteenth century....
; and
John Dalton
John Dalton

John Dalton Fellow of the Royal Society was an England chemist, meteorologist and physicist. He is best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory, and his research into Color blindness ....
, by Francis Legatt Chantrey
Francis Legatt Chantrey

Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey , was an England sculpture of the Georgian era.He was born at Norton, Sheffield, South Yorkshire near Sheffield, where his father, a carpenter, had a small farm....
.

Decorating the floor of the entrance hall is a mosaic depicting the bee

Bee

Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants. Bees are a monophyly lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila....
, the symbol of Manchester being a hive of industry during the 19th century. This is also carved into many of the pillars and walls about the building.

Great Hall

The hall features an organ

Organ (music)

The organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard played either Manual or Pedal clavier. The organ is one of the oldest musical instruments in the European classical music....
by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll

Aristide Cavaillé-Coll

Aristide Cavaill?-Coll was a France organ builder. He is considered by many to be the greatest pipe organ builder of the 19th century because he combined both science and art to make his instruments....
and a sequence of twelve murals by Ford Madox Brown

Ford Madox Brown

Ford Madox Brown was an England painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often William Hogarth version of the Pre-Raphaelite style....
. The murals reflect the outstanding themes of Victorian Manchester: Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
, commerce and the textile industry. They are not true fresco

Fresco

Fresco is any of several related painting types, done on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Italian word affresco which derives from the adjective fresco , which has Latin origins....
s but employ the Gambier Parry process

Gambier Parry process

The Gambier Parry process is a development of the classical technique of fresco for painting murals, named for Thomas Gambier Parry.In some environments, conventional fresco colours can rapidly accumulate dirt and grime....
. The murals are:

The Romans Building a Fort at Mancenion: The building of the fort, to be found now in Manchester's Castlefield
Castlefield

Castlefield is an inner city area of Manchester, in North West England. It is historically notable for the Roman Empire castra of Mamucium or Mancunium which later gave its name to Manchester....
, by British slaves under Agricola
The Baptism of Edwin: Baptism
Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted as a full member of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered....
of Edwin of Northumbria
Edwin of Northumbria

Saint Edwin was the List of monarchs of Northumbria of Deira and Bernicia - which would later become known as Northumbria - from about 616 until his death....
at York
York

York is a walled city, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire and River Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city status in the United Kingdom is noted for its rich heritage and it has played an important role throughout much of its almost 2,000 year existence....
, watched by his wife Ethelberga and family
The Expulsion of the Danes from Manchester: A colourful depiction of the evacuation of the Danes
Danelaw

The Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , is a historical name given to the part of Great Britain in which the laws of the "Danes" dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons....
from the town
The Establishment of Flemish Weavers in Manchester A.D. 1363: Queen Philippa of Hainault
Philippa of Hainault

Philippa of Hainault was the Queen consort of Edward III of England....
greets Flemish weavers who were invited to England under Edward III of England
Edward III of England

Edward III was one of the most successful List of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Englands of the Britain in the Middle Ages. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II of England, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into the most efficient military power in Europe....
's act of 1337.
The Trial of Wycliffe A.D. 1377: Perhaps the most impressive of the twelve murals, on which John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe

John Wycliffe was an English theologian, lay preacher, translator and reformist. Wycliffe was an early dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century....
is depicted on trial, defended by his patron, John of Gaunt. Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer was an English author, poet, philosopher, Bureaucracy, Noble court and diplomat. Although he wrote many works, he is best remembered for his unfinished frame narrative The Canterbury Tales....
, another protegé of Gaunt's, acts as recorder.
The Proclamation regarding Weights and Measures A.D. 1556: The Burgess and others of the Town of Manchester shall send in all manner of Weights and Measures to be tried by their Majesties standard.
Crabtree watching the Transit of Venus A.D. 1639: William Crabtree
William Crabtree

William Crabtree was an astronomer, mathematician, and merchant from Broughton, Greater Manchester, then a township near Manchester, which is now part of Salford, Greater Manchester, England....
, a draper who lived at Broughton, was asked by a curate friend, Jeremiah Horrocks
Jeremiah Horrocks

Jeremiah Horrocks , sometimes given as Jeremiah Horrox , was an England astronomer who was the only person to predict, and one of only two people to observe and record, the transit of Venus of 1639....
, to observe the Transit of Venus
Venus

Venus is the second-closest planet to the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus , the Roman mythology goddess of love....
, on 24 November. Crabtree's diligence and rigour enabled him to correct Horrocks' faulty calculations and to observe the transit on 4 December.
Chetham's Life's Dream A.D. 1640: Humphrey Chetham
Humphrey Chetham

Sir Humphrey Chetham was an England merchant, responsible for the creation of Chetham's Hospital and Chetham's Library, the oldest public library in the English language-speaking world....
dreams of the school, Chetham's School of Music
Chetham's School of Music

Chetham's School of Music, familiarly known as "Chets", is a specialist music school in Manchester, United Kingdom. It was established in 1969 on the site of Chetham's Hospital, an orphanage founded by Humphrey Chetham in 1653....
, to be established by his legacy.
Bradshaw's
John Bradshaw (judge)

John Bradshaw was an English judge. He is most notable for his role in the High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I....
Defence of Manchester A.D. 1642: During the English Civil War
English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Roundhead and Cavalier. The First English Civil War and Second English Civil War civil wars pitted the supporters of Charles I of England against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the Third English Civil War saw fighting between supporters...
, Manchester was laid under siege by Royalists. It was in fact John Rosworm
John Rosworm

John Rosworm or Rosworme was a Netherlands or Germany soldier and military engineer who served the Parliament of England cause during the English Civil War....
, not Bradshaw, who defended the town.
John Kay
John Kay (flying shuttle)

John Kay was the inventor of the flying shuttle, which was a key contribution to the Industrial Revolution.He was born in Bury, Lancashire, England....
, Inventor of the Fly Shuttle
Flying shuttle

The flying shuttle was one of the key developments in weaving that helped fuel the Industrial Revolution. It was patented by John Kay in 1733....
A.D. 1753: Depicts luddite
Luddite

The Luddites were a social movement of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland textile artisans in the early nineteenth century who protested—often by destroying mechanized looms—against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work....
s destroying the shuttle mechanism while Kay is being smuggled to safety.
The Opening of the Bridgewater Canal
Bridgewater Canal

The Bridgewater Canal is a canal in North West England that connects Runcorn, Manchester, and Leigh, Greater Manchester. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester....
A.D. 1761: The 3rd Earl of Bridgewater owned coal mines in Worsley , and collaborated with engineer
Engineer

An engineer is a person professionally engaged in a field of engineering. Engineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints....
James Brindley
James Brindley

James Brindley was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century....
to build a canal
Canal

Canals are artificial channels for water. There are two types of canals: Aqueduct canals, which are used for the conveyance and delivery of water, and waterways, which are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans....
to carry coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
into the heart of Manchester.
Dalton collecting Marsh-Fire Gas: The seminal studies that led John Dalton
John Dalton

John Dalton Fellow of the Royal Society was an England chemist, meteorologist and physicist. He is best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory, and his research into Color blindness ....
to his atom
Atom

|-! bgcolor=gray | Properties|-||}The atom is a basic unit of matter consisting of a dense, central atomic nucleus surrounded by a electron cloud of electric charge electrons....
ic theory

Bell tower

There is a 280-foot (85 m) bell tower, housing a carillon

Carillon

A carillon is a musical instrument consisting of at least 23 cast bronze cup-shaped bell s which are played one after the other or sounded together ....
of 23 bell

Bell (instrument)

A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually an open-ended hollow drum which resonates upon being struck....
s the last 13 of them are hung for full circle change ringing manufactured by John Taylor Bellfounders

John Taylor Bellfounders

Taylors Eayre & Smith Ltd , based in Loughborough in the United Kingdom, is the world's largest working bell foundry.The company manufactures bells for use in clock towers, change ringing peals, chime s, and carillons....
. The clock bell, Great Abel, is named for Heywood. It is inscribed with the initials AH and the Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and remains one of the most popular English poets.Tennyson excelled at penning short lyrics, including "In the valley of Cauteretz", "Break, break, break", "The Charge of the Light Brigade ", "Tears, Idle Tears" and "Crossing the Bar"....
line Ring out the false, ring in the true. The clock is by Gillett and Bland (predecessor of Gillett and Johnston

Gillett & Johnston

Gillett and Johnston is a clock and bell manufacturing business....
) and its face bears the inscription Teach us to number our Days.

Extension

Work started on an extension on 1934 and was completed in 1938. The architect was E. Vincent Harris, who had recently completed the adjacent Manchester Central Library

Manchester Central Library

Manchester Central Library is a circular library next to the extended Manchester Town Hall in Manchester, England. It acts as the headquarters of the Manchester Library & Information Service, which also consists of 22 other community libraries....
, and it is considered by many to be his finest work. The building features stained-glass

Stained glass

For the Blackford Oakes novel, see Stained Glass The term stained glass can refer to the material of coloured glass or the craft of working with it....
windows by George Kruger Gray

George Kruger Gray

George Edward Kruger Gray was an England artist, best remembered for his designs of coinage and stained glass windows....
.

Manchester Town Hall

Old Town Hall

Design and construction of the new building

Entrance

Great Hall

Bell tower

Extension

See also

External links