Albert Square, Manchester
City of Manchester | |
Location | Manchester, England, UK |
---|---|
Coordinates | 53°28′46″N 2°14′42″W / 53.47944°N 2.24500°W |
Construction | |
Completion | c. 1864 |
Albert Square is a public
The square contains a number of monuments and statues, the largest of which is the Albert Memorial, a monument to
History
The area in which the square is situated was once derelict land and an area of dense housing near the Town Yard and the River Tib (named Longworth's Folly).[2]
The square's creation arose out of a project by
The project won much public support; the Manchester Bricklayers' Protection Society donated 50,000 bricks towards the monument's construction, "as an expression of sympathy towards our beloved Queen". When construction problems arose (the site was found to be riddled with drains and culverts) and the bricks were used up on the foundations alone, a public subscription was launched in 1865 and a further £6,249 was raised, in spite of the hardships of the Cotton Famine.[4]
Clearing the site began in 1864, and required the demolition of over 100 buildings, including the Engraver's Arms
It was decided to construct a new town hall for Manchester, as the old building in
In the early 1970s, there was a plan to build an underground station under Albert Square and neighbouring St Peter's Square, as part of the ill-fated Picc-Vic tunnel project.[5] The project was eventually cancelled and the station was not built.
In April 1972, the area around Albert Square was designated a conservation area, and in 1981 to include the neighbouring, newly created Lincoln Square. (The creation of Lincoln Square completed a "procesional way" from the Law Courts through Spinningfields and Lincoln Square to the Town Hall.)
The centre of Albert Square was originally laid out in the form of a
Monuments
Albert Memorial
Albert Square's largest monument is the
Worthington himself had, at the age of 18, been presented with the Royal Society of Arts' Isis Gold Medal by Prince Albert for a design for a Gothic-style chancel. His Medieval-style design for the Albert Memorial was inspired by the Church of Santa Maria della Spina in Pisa. Although his design was unusual for its time, commentators have suggested he may have been influenced by George Kemp's Scott Monument in Princes Street, Edinburgh, built 20 years earlier.[4]
The memorial is topped with an ornate spire, and on each side a crocketed gable with canopied pinnacles on colonettes. Within the canopies stand symbolic figures representing art, commerce, science and agriculture. Below these stand secondary figures representing particular disciplines:
- The Four Arts: painting, architecture, music, sculpture
- Commerce: the Four Continents
- The Four Sciences: chemistry, astronomy, mechanics, mathematics
- Agriculture: the Four Seasons
The coloured sett paving which was laid around the memorial in 1987 depicts floral representations of the Four Home Nations of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Proposals to move or demolish the Albert Memorial have been made; a plan to replace Prince Albert with a war memorial following the
London Albert Memorial
Manchester's Albert Memorial, completed in 1865, was the first of several Albert Memorials around the United Kingdom, and it bears a noticeable similarity to the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens, London, which was completed some seven years after the Mancunian monument. Claims that Worthington's design influenced George Gilbert Scott in his London monument are disputed. Scott, writing in his Recollections, stated that his idea of building a medieval canopy was original, "so new as to provoke much opposition".[4]
Other monuments
Within the square are several other monuments:
- Bishop James Fraser by Thomas Woolner (1887), Grade II listed[9]
- John Bright by Albert Bruce-Joy (1891), Grade II listed[10]
- Oliver Heywood by Albert Bruce-Joy (1894), Grade II listed[11]
- William Ewart Gladstone by Mario Raggi (1901), Grade II listed[12]
- A Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria(1897). This was returned to the square in 1997 having been kept in storage for a period before that.
Gallery
-
Statue of Oliver Heywood
-
Statue of John Bright
-
James Fraser (1818–85), Bishop of Manchester (1870–85)
-
Statue of William Ewart Gladstone
Lincoln Square
Neighbouring Lincoln Square, created in 1981, features:
- A fountain commemorating the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 (since converted into a flower bed)
- A statue of cotton famine and American Civil War of 1861–1865.[13] The Lincoln statue was originally located in Platt Fields Parkand was moved to the square in 1986.
Notable buildings
Albert Square is bounded by a varied selection of listed Victorian buildings, the largest being the town hall. Only the western side of the square (facing the town hall) has lost its original buildings and is now occupied by brick and glass office blocks erected during the 1980s. Buildings in Albert Square include:
- Manchester Town Hall[1] (1868–77) – neo-Gothic sandstone ashlar local governmental building on a triangular site, with a 280 ft (85 m) bell tower, housing a carillon of 23 bells, designed by Alfred Waterhouse for Manchester Corporation. Contains mural paintings by Ford Madox Brown.
- the Abbey National building (c.1900), Grade II listed[14] – Neoclassical Portland stone bank by Percy Worthington with semicircular front.
- Albert Chambers, 16 Albert Square (1873), Grade II listed[15] – Venetian-style sandstone ashlar offices designed by Clegg and Knowles for Manchester Corporation Gasworks.
- Carlton House (formerly Bridgewater Buildings), 17–18 Albert Square (1872), Grade II listed[16] – Venetian Gothic-style sandstone ashlar office buildings by Clegg and Knowles.
- St Andrew's Chambers, 20–21 Albert Square (1874), Grade II listed[17] – Neo-Gothic sandstone corner building designed by George T. Redmayne for the Scottish Widows Fund Life Assurance Society.
- The Memorial Hall, by architect Thomas Worthington for the Unitarian Church[dubious ] (1866), Grade II* listed,[18] Southmill Street corner.
References
- ^ a b Historic England. "Manchester Town Hall (1207469)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ^ a b "Albert Square Conservation Area". Manchester City Council. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- ^ Stewart, Cecil (1956) The Stones of Manchester. London: Edward Arnold; pp. 81–84
- ^ ISBN 0-7190-5606-3.
- ^ SELNEC Picc-Vic Line, SELNEC PTE, October 1971 publicity brochure
- ^ Historic England. "Albert Memorial (1197820)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ISBN 0-85323-567-8.
- ^ The Restoration of Manchester’s Albert Memorial 1977-78: A Report of the Albert Memorial Appeal Committee
- ^ Historic England. "James Fraser monument (1197822)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "John Bright monument (1197821)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Oliver Heywood monument (1197824)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "William Gladstone monument (1197823)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ISBN 0-85323-567-8.
- ^ Historic England. "Abbey National building (1283043)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Albert Chambers (1197817)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Carlton House (1197818)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "St Andrew's Chambers (1197819)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Memorial Hall (1254637)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
External links
- Aerial photograph of Albert Square
- Happy birthday Town Hall – BBC Manchester (historic photographs of Albert Square)