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Favourite Mcr buildings. Part 1: The Former YMCA

31/1/2025

Here's the former YMCA (1911), now St George's House, on Peter Street by Woodhouse, Corbett and Dean. The first UK building to be built of reinforced concrete on the Kahn system, named after a German-born American engineer).

The buff and brown terracotta-faced building mingles tremendous Art Nouveau motifs with an essentially Baroque form. That Art Nouveau though. Wow. Look at that stretched Manchester coat of arms, bees and ship and all? Magnificent.

There’s a cracking copy of Renaissance artist Donatello's St George too. St George seems to be staring at the queue for coffee-shop Ezra & Gil wondering whether a coffee is worth queuing outside in all weathers. The festoons are hung vertically not dropping from two higher fold points. Crazy stuff.

The massive arched entrance could be the entrance to a fancy road tunnel under a mountain. The YMCA was strong in Manchester with its own sports teams in local leagues. Keeping a body beautiful was part of having a clean spirit in the Young Men’s Christian Association. To this effect the building hosted a gym, a running track, two fives courts on the roof and a top floor with a swimming pool.

If co-working had been a thing when the building was converted twenty years or so back then maybe these would have been retained. It’s a building that whiffs of the changes taking place in architecture in the early 20th century. Catch it in the sun and that terracotta glows.

The building replaced a building of 1833 for the Natural History Museum of Manchester. The collection was transferred to Manchester Museum when that opened down Oxford Road, the building closed but in 1876 the YMCA moved in and then demolished it and gave the city this real Manchester gem: a gem presently hosting excellent food and drink Haunt and Exhibition.

You can read more about Manchester buildings in some of my Manchester books at or on Manchester Confidential

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Favourite Manchester Buildings: Part 2. St Wilfrid's, Church, Hulme

29/1/2025

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Here’s the former St Wilfrid’s RC Church in Hulme, converted to workspaces in the 1980s. It looks a little dowdy and plain but it’s important. It was designed by famed and controversial nineteenth century architect Pugin who like Pele has a somewhat more elaborate full name, in the architect’s case, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin.

The church was finished in 1842 when Pugin was a relatively young man of thirty two. In some respects this most talented of designers would remain young dying just ten years later. He’s perhaps best known for the interiors of the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) but if you want your eyes to pop out of your head in terms of rich decoration nip down to Cheadle, Staffordshire (not GM) and ogle St Giles’ Church - pictured below.

Pugin was a key player in the Gothic revival and a return to spirituality in church architecture. He was making a religious point over this as he’d converted to Catholicism and was very passionate about his new faith. As with St Giles, St Wilfrid’s was paid for by John Talbot, Lord Shrewsbury, Pugin’s patron, another Roman Catholic.

There was very little money though so St Wilfrid’s is simplicity itself with a bump on one side for a tower that was never built beyond eave level. The windows are mostly small, they’re called lancet windows, with a bigger rose window on the east. It’s all about the massing, the overall appearance, rising from a large brick and stone plinth. One authority describes it as a ‘seminal building in the history of 19th century church architecture’ because it led other architects to look more closely at genuine medieval churches and attempt to replicate that mood of spirituality.

Pugin’s son added the three gabbled confessionals on the south side. That was Edward who also designed the spectacular St Francis’s, now Gorton Monastery, and several other churches in the region.

St Wilfrid was a 7th century English saint known for being a truculent and difficult character. Speaking of which…

This is Johnny Rogan in his Morrissey & Marr biography: ‘While the Moors (murder) controversy raged, Steven (Morrissey) was taking his first communion at St Wilfrid’s Church. It was an eventful morning for the class of ’66 who turned out in the best clothes to receive the Host. Afterwards, they were treated to a post-Mass boiled egg breakfast.’

Very religious.

There’s now a tattoo studio in St Wilfrid’s called Sabbath Church. Times change.

The black & white picture by the way here is from 1964 and features a brick field wasteland.

This is Johnny Rogan in his Morrissey & Marr biography: ‘While the Moors (murder) controversy raged, Steven was taking his first communion at St Wilfrid’s Church. It was an eventful morning for the class of ’66 who turned out in the best clothes to receive the Host. Afterwards, they were treated to a post-Mass boiled egg breakfast.’ Mass boiled eggs, so to speak.

Very religious.

There’s now a tattoo studio in St Wilfrid’s called Sabbath Church. Times change.

The black & white picture by the way here is from 1964 and features a brick field wasteland.

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Favourite Mcr buildings. Part 1: The Former YMCA

Favourite Manchester Buildings: Part 2. St Wilfrid's, Church, Hulme

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