Uttley House

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Coordinates: 53°26′37″N 2°12′48″W / 53.44361°N 2.21333°W / 53.44361; -2.21333
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Uttley House
Chcc blue sky 2
The original Firs section
Map
Former namesThe Firs, Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre
General information
LocationFallowfield Campus
AddressChancellors Way, Fallowfield, Manchester
Coordinates53°26′37″N 2°12′48″W / 53.443611°N 2.213333°W / 53.443611; -2.213333
Completed1850
OwnerUniversity of Manchester
Design and construction
Architect(s)Edward Walters
Designations
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameThe Firs and attached annex
Designated2 October 1974
Reference no.1270605
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameLodge of The Firs, with attached gateway
Designated2 October 1974
Reference no.1254834

Uttley House (formerly named The Firs), is a

Manchester Guardian
. It is surrounded by 5.5 acres (2.2 ha) of gardens to the south and an environmental research institute to the north. The house has seen many past uses, including a private home, hotel, vaccination clinic and conference centre.

History

The Firs

Whitworth used The Firs mainly as a social, political and business base, entertaining radicals of the age such as

UMIST — and helped to found the Manchester School of Design. To the rear, Whitworth had a shooting range — now the site of the University's horticultural glasshouses — on which he tested his famous, but commercially unsuccessful, Whitworth Rifle, which featured a revolutionary hexagonally rifled barrel. The house was surrounded by a 52 acres (21 ha) estate that now makes up the current Fallowfield Campus.[1]

In 1882, having built a new house in

Manchester Guardian.[1] After Scott's death the house became the property of the University of Manchester, and was the vice-chancellor's residence until 1991. The house is a Grade II listed building.[2]

Hotel

The house was converted into a hotel and re-opened as the Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre in 1997. A large extension to the Grade II building was completed for the hotel, giving it a capacity of 72 rooms. The hotel was operated by the university's events venue arm as a conference centre and featured a restaurant, bar and conference facilities.[3] Operations ceased in 2019, as the university prepared to repurpose the site as part of the university's redevelopment of the existing buildings on the campus.[4][5]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the former hotel site was used as a vaccination centre.[6]

Halls of residence

Entrance from Chancellors Way

In 2021, as part of a redevelopment of the Fallowfield Campus, the hotel was converted into a student hall of residence and renamed Uttley House, after writer

Junior Common Room is shared with Richmond Park, another hall of residence to the north.[8]

Firs Environmental Research Station

Included in the site formerly part of The Firs is the Firs Environmental Research Station, a research institute of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.[9] During World War I, various drugs were grown and developed at the station, including Atropa belladonna and Hyoscyamus niger.[10] The facility houses an air quality monitoring station, greenhouses, climate controlled growing environments and remnants of the old botanical garden.

In 2020, as a result of a £2 million endowment, the greenhouses were substantially upgraded.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b History (Faculty of Life Sciences - The University of Manchester) Archived 7 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Historic England. "The Firs and attached annex (Grade II) (1270605)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Details (The University of Manchester)". conference.manchester.ac.uk. The University of Manchester. 30 May 2022. Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Contract out for Owens Park construction partner". Place North West. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Fallowfield residential development | Campus Masterplan | The University of Manchester". masterplan.manchester.ac.uk. The University of Manchester. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). healthiermanchester.org. Healthier Manchester. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Details (The University of Manchester)". accommodation.manchester.ac.uk. The University of Manchester. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Official Richmond Park & Uttley House University of Manchester 2021 | Facebook". facebook.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  9. ^ "The Firs environmental research station - Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences - The University of Manchester". ees.manchester.ac.uk. The University of Manchester. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  10. ^ "The fascinating history - and future - of FIRS Environmental Research Station". eps.manchester.ac.uk. The University of Manchester. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  11. ^ "FIRS Environmental Research Centre gets £2m makeover". eps.manchester.ac.uk. The University of Manchester. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2022.

External links

53°26′37″N 2°12′48″W / 53.44361°N 2.21333°W / 53.44361; -2.21333

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