Lawrence Buildings

Lawrence Buildings in Mount Street, Manchester, England, is a Victorian office block constructed for the Inland Revenue in 1874–76 by Pennington and Bridgen in the Gothic Revival style. It is a Grade II* listed building as of 3 October 1974. The building is of sandstone ashlar with a slate roof. Its skyline is dramatic, with "tourelles and slated spirelet, tall crocketed gable(s), low dormers and tall chimneys". Heavily decorated, it displays a statue of Queen Victoria beneath a canopy on the central front, together with a doorcase flanked by "a lion and a unicorn on pedestals, with an elaborate two-storey oriel window above". Lawrence Buildings forms a group with St Andrew's Chambers, to the right, in a similar style. As of 2024, the ground floor is a café, and the remaining building, floors 1–5, are occupied by flexible office space company, incspaces.

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Memorial Hall, Manchester

The Memorial Hall in Albert Square, Manchester, England, was constructed in 1863–1866 by Thomas Worthington. It was built to commemorate the bicentennial anniversary of the 1662 Act of Uniformity. One of the best examples of Venetian Gothic revival in the city, the hall is a Grade II* listed building.

Manchester

Manchester is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of over 589,000 in 2024. It borders the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the city of Salford to the west. The two cities and the surrounding towns form one of the United Kingdom's most populous conurbations, the Greater Manchester Built-up Area, which has a population of 2.87 million. The history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort of Mamucium or Mancunium, established around AD 79 on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. Historically part of Lancashire, areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated into Manchester in the 20th century. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a manorial township, but began to expand significantly with a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, which resulted in it becoming the world's first industrialised city. Manchester attained city status in 1853. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894, creating the Port of Manchester and linking the city to the Irish Sea, 36 miles (58 km) to the west. Its fortune declined after the Second World War, owing to deindustrialisation, and the 1996 Manchester bombing led to extensive investment and regeneration. Following considerable redevelopment, Manchester was the host city for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The city is notable for its architecture, its musical exports, its links to media, its links to science and engineering, its sports clubs and its transport connections.

Gaiety Theatre, Manchester

The Gaiety Theatre, Manchester was a theatre in Manchester, England. It opened in 1884 and was demolished in 1959. It replaced a previous Gaiety Theatre on the site that had been destroyed by fire. The new theatre was designed by Alfred Darbyshire for United Theatres Co. Ltd. and built on a plot of land near to the corner of Peter Street and Mount Street. It opened as the Comedy Theatre in 1884. On 9 November 1908, it was bought by Annie Horniman for £25,000 and reconstructed to plans by Frank Matcham, reducing its capacity from 2,500 to 1,300. The theatre reopened as the Gaiety Theatre in 1912. It was Britain's first regional repertory theatre. In 1920 the theatre was taken over by Samuel Fitton & Associates but closed in 1922. It was in use again between 1945 and 1947 but was demolished in 1959. During the time the theatre was being run by Annie Horniman, a wide variety of types of plays was produced. Anne Horniman also encouraged local writers, who became known as the Manchester School of playwrights. They included Allan Monkhouse, Harold Brighouse, writer of Hobson's Choice, and Stanley Houghton, who wrote Hindle Wakes. Actors who performed at the Gaiety early in their careers include Sybil Thorndike and Basil Dean. In 2008 Annie Horniman's centenary was celebrated by a performance of Houghton's play Independent Means, which had been recently "rediscovered" in the British Library by Chris Honer, the theatre's artistic director.

Manchester City Police Headquarters

The Manchester City Police Headquarters historic building is located in Manchester, England. It was built during 1933–37 as the headquarters of the Manchester City Police.