Newly opened

STAY: Hotel Brooklyn

Opened on 14 February 2020, Bespoke Hotel’s third Manchester hotel alongside Hotel Gotham and The Townhouse Hotel; Hotel Brooklyn offers 189 stylish bedrooms, events space for up to 220 people, panoramic rooftop bar known as Brooklyn Heights, and restaurant named Runyon’s. 

- See also: newly opened hotels – Stock Exchange Hotel; Dakota; Native

SEE: Back to the Future the Musical

Following in the footsteps of sleeper hit & Juliet, which premiered in Manchester in September 2019 before transferring to London’s West End, Back to the Future The Musical received its world-premiere at the Manchester Opera House in February 2020 and will run until May before transferring to London. It joins a strong line-up of musicals old and new coming to Manchester in 2020 including: Phantom of the Opera (March); Zorro The Musical (March); Les Misérables (May); Everyone’s Talking About Jamie (July); and The Lion King (October).

- See also: theatres - HOME; Royal Exchange; Hope Mill; The Lowry; The Met

EAT: Rosa’s Thai Café

Now open in The Old Courthouse on Deansgate, Rosa’s Thai Café offers a variety of dishes using seasonal ingredients, including its best-selling Pad Thai, signature red butternut curry with sweet basil and Drunken noodles with galangal. Open seven days a week, the restaurant has veggie, vegan and coeliac friendly menus alongside beer, wine and cocktails, including Rosa’s Thai PA – a craft pale ale blended with lemongrass and lime.

- See also: Deansgate restaurants and cafés  – Hawksmoor, Over Under, Federal

EAT: Higher Ground

Higher Ground is the first pop-up residency to open in Manchester’s newest neighbourhood, Kampus, located opposite Canal Street. Previously a security cabin, Higher Ground is led by Joseph Otway (previously Where the Light Gets In and Copenhagen’s Michelin-starred Ralæ) and Richard Cossins, who will create a daily changing menu featuring local ingredients, Manchester beer and natural wines.

- See also: pop-up spots – Hatch; Stretford Food Hall; GRUB

Coming soon

SEE: Pre-Factory event – The Long Goodbye

The Long Goodbye is an electrifying journey into our here and now; a close-up look at the breakup of a toxic relationship with the country you call home. Directed by Kirsty Housley (Tao of Glass) and performed by Riz Ahmed, The Long Goodbye will be a Manchester International Festival world premiere – and the latest event showcasing the kind of work that will be premiering at The Factory, MIF’s future year-round home opening in 2021. The Long Goodbye will take place 26-28 March in an intimate space at Depot at Mayfield before being presented as a part of Brooklyn Academy of Music's (BAM) new season.

- See also: world premieres – Insane Animals at HOME; Back to the Future at the Opera House

EAT: Bundobust

Indian street food and craft beer specialist, Bundobust, will open a second Manchester site in summer. The new restaurant will be located in the grade II listed St James’ Building on Oxford Street and will also be home to Bundobust’s first brewery.

- See also: Indian restaurants - Mughli; Dishoom; This and That

SEE: Bluedot and Parklife announce festival line-ups

Cheshire-based Bluedot festival has announced a UK exclusive festival performance from Bjork, along with Groove Armada and Metronomy for this summer's event. Located at Jodrell Bank Observatory, Bluedot is a celebration of music, science and cosmic culture and takes place in July. Meanwhile Europe’s biggest metropolitan festival, Parklife, has announced Grammy Award-winning US pop star and producer Tyler, the Creator, grime stars JME and Skepta, Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi and US megastar Khalid as their weekend headliners in June.

- See also: summer music festivals - Sounds of the City; Manchester Pride Live; Dot To Dot

SEE: Manchester Science Festival

Produced by the Science and Industry Museum which is undergoing significant upgrades across its site, Manchester Science Festival will return this year from 23 October – 1 November after a hiatus year. The theme of this year’s event has been announced as climate, and how we should respond to its challenges through three lenses: our cities; our natural world; and ourselves.

- See also: educational exhibitions – Dippy on Tour (Touchstones Rochdale)

DO: I’m a Celebrity… Jungle Challenge

ITV are set to open a brand-new entertainment attraction, celebrating TV blockbuster I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! at The Lowry Outlet Mall’s brand new The Watergardens development at MediaCityUK. I’m a Celebrity… Jungle Challenge will open later this year and will feature the iconic Base Camp, Croc Creek and Snake Rock, with plenty of obstacles and challenges to navigate.

- See also: game activities – The Crystal Maze; Junkyard Golf; Flight Club

In case you missed it

SCREEN: filming in Manchester

Have you watched The Stranger on Netflix yet? Scenes for this show were shot across Greater Manchester, including Ancoats, St Peter’s Square, Whalley Range, Eccles and Stockport and there's a great article on the Conde Nast Traveller website with full details. Netflix were in town again in February for the filming of The Crown (check out @bartekbarsista’s shots here), when the Northern Quarter doubled as New York City. Marvel’s upcoming Morbius movie starring Jared Leto was also filmed in the Northern Quarter masquerading as NYC, whilst Peaky Blinders, The Darkest Hour, Years and Years, and another Harlan Coben adaptation, Safe, have all been filmed here in recent years.

SHOP: Levenshulme Market crowned at the Great British Market Awards 2020

Levenshulme Market was recently crowned Best Small Market at the Great British Market Awards 2020. A ten minute train ride away from Manchester Piccadilly Station, Levenshulme Market is a social enterprise that runs every weekend from March-December with pop up events at The University of Manchester - all offering street food, activities for children and live music.

DO: RHS Garden Bridgewater announces opening date

The RHS is creating a stunning new 154-acre garden in the heart of the North West by bringing back to life the lost historic grounds at Worsley New Hall in Salford. The creation of RHS Garden Bridgewater - the Society's first new garden in 17 years - is the largest gardening project in Europe and will have a phased opening from 30 July 2020.

It is all part of Grimmfest’s ‘Horror Legends Season’ of screenings  – taking place across Spring and early Summer 2020 and featuring films from Tobe Hooper (former event on 9/2/20), David Cronenberg (8/3/20), John Carpenter (9/5/20) and Wes Craven (5/7/20). That’s 16 movies in total over 4 special day events… and all are in partnership with The Horror Channel, so guests can be sure of a truly terrifying time! Find out more about Grimmfest’s Horror Legends Season in our earlier Haunt Manchester article here.

So what can guests expect from Cronenberg Day on the 8 February? Four thrilling films screened one after the other – an ideal feast for any film fanatic – though tickets are also available for individual films. Doors open at 12.30pm and the first on the screen at 1pm will be Rabid – the stark, striking film starring Marilyn Chambers, which inspired a recent remake by the Soska Sisters. This will be followed by Videodrome at 3.10pm – the Science-Fiction Body Horror fusion, exploring the ‘video nasties’ hysteria of the 1980s in a gripping way. The Fly is the penultimate film at 5.10pm – a twisted love story of the genre – followed by the iconic Crash at 7.15pm; J.G Ballard’s novel of the same name transformed into film through Cronenberg’s cinematic reimagining.

Stockport Plaza Cinema certainly marks an iconic setting (pictured below) – a beautiful example of 1932 Art Deco architecture – and easily accessible from Manchester too. In celebration of the day ahead, Grimmfest have produced a special Grimmfest Cronenberg trailer here and tickets are available now via the link.

There is also the opportunity to win two day passes to the upcoming Grimmfest 2020 (Wednesday 7 October - Sunday 11 October at the Odeon Great Northern) as well as a horror-packed goodie bag – with a competition open until Friday 28 February!

For Horror Legends Season: - FULL SEASON PASS: £80.00 (+booking fees)

DAY PASS: £23.50 (+booking fees)
INDIVIDUAL FILMS: £7.50 (+booking fees)

By Emily Oldfield

Images provided with thanks to Grimmfest

]]> stuart.aiken@marketingmanchester.com (Visit Manchester) http://www.visitmanchester.com/ideas-and-inspiration/blog/read/2020/02/grimmfests-horror-legends-season-features-cronenberg-day-at-the-historic-stockport-plaza-cinema-b1101#comments1101 Thu, 27 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT http://www.visitmanchester.com/ideas-and-inspiration/blog/read/2020/02/manchesters-modern-gothic-in-st-peters-square-b1100 The seventh instalment as part of an ongoing series for Haunt Manchester by Dr  Peter N. Lindfield  FSA, exploring Greater Manchester’s Gothic architecture and hidden heritage. The seventh instalment as part of an ongoing series for Haunt Manchester by Dr Peter N. Lindfield FSA, exploring Greater Manchester’s Gothic architecture and hidden heritage. Peter’s previous Haunt Manchester articles include features on Ordsall Hall, Albert’s Schloss and Albert Hall, the Mancunian Gothic Sunday School of St Matthew’s, Arlington House in Salford – and more. From the city’s striking Gothic features to the more unusual aspects of buildings usually taken for granted and history hidden in plain sight, a variety of locations will be explored and visited over the course of 2020. In this article he explores ‘Manchester’s Modern Gothic in St Peter’s Square’.

Above - Gothic additions to St Peter’s Square made during the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Dr Peter N. Lindfield FSA is a Senior Research Associate in the Departments of English and History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has published widely on Georgian Gothic architecture and design broadly conceived, as well as heraldry and the relevance of heraldic arts to post-medieval English intellectual, cultural, and aesthetic culture. Last year, as part of Gothic Manchester Festival 2019, he co-organised an event at Chetham’s Library Baronial Hall with Professor Dale Townshend titled ‘Faking Gothic Furniture’. This involved discussing the mysterious George Shaw (1810-76), a local Upper Mill lad who developed an early interest in medieval architecture and heraldry, going on to create forgeries of Tudor and Elizabethan furniture for a number of high-profile individuals and places at the time, including Chetham’s!

Currently Peter is completing his Leverhulme-funded research project exploring forged antiquarian materials in Georgian Britain, and also working on the recently re-discovered Henry VII and Elizabeth of York marriage bed, which itself was the inspiration behind many of Shaw’s so-called ‘Gothic forgeries’. He is also leading a ‘Gothic Connections’ guided walk between Salford and Manchester on Thursday 26 March (6.45-8.45pm) as part of Not Quite Light Festival 2020 (bookable here). This event is supported by Haunt Manchester. 

Below - Fig.1: J.M.W. Turner, Proposed design for Fonthill Abbey by James Wyatt. 1798. B1975.4.1880. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection.

Below - Fig.2: Detail of the Central Bay of James Wyatt’s Heaton Hall, Manchester. © Peter N. Lindfield.

St Peter’s Square, an open space at the centre of Manchester, is the sight of the Peterloo Massacre of 1819 (see here) and today it is dominated by the tram interchange stations. Until the early twentieth century, however, the square was commanded by a church, St Peter’s, designed by the then most fashionable London-based architect of the day: James Wyatt (1746–1813). Wyatt was responsible for constructing some of the most significant country houses of late-Georgian Britain, including William Beckford’s stupendous Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire (Fig.1), and, far closer to Manchester, Heaton Hall (Fig.2; see here for an essay on the building by Emily Oldfield and me).

His architectural style was mixed: Wyatt worked in both the Gothic and what has been termed the Neoclassical modes (a particular reinterpretation of Classical architecture that became prevalent in eighteenth-century Britain following, and informed by, discoveries made at the archaeological discoveries of Pompeii and Herculaneum mid-century).

Above - Fig.3: Photograph of James Wyatt’s St Peter’s Church, Manchester. (CC-BY-4.0).

Wyatt’s church, as illustrated in Fig.3, was clearly in the Neoclassical style: it was a building erected from 1788 in a fashionable mode by a prolific and highly desirable architect. Pulled down in 1907—long before buildings were protected by the listing mechanism of English Heritage (now Historic England)—it is memorialized by a cross made from Portland stone, dating to 1908 (Fig.4). The irony is that this cross—an architectural memorial to an unlisted and destroyed building—is Grade II listed by Historic England (list entry number SJ8392997915); a status granted on 3 September 1974.

Below - Fig.4: The St Peter’s Church Memorial Cross, Manchester. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Below - Fig.5: The Eleanor Cross at Geddington. Lofty (CC-BY-2.5).

The St Peter’s Cross follows an architectural trope exemplified particularly by the 12 Eleanor Crosses erected to mark the place that the body of Eleanor of Castile (1241–90), wife of Edward I, rested overnight on its journey in 1290 from Harby, the place of her death in Nottinghamshire, back to London. Notable survivals of these crosses include that at Geddington, Northamptonshire (Historic England list entry number 1013313 (Grade I) Fig.5), and the cross at Charring Cross, London—in the forecourt of Charing Cross Station—is a Victorian recreation a short distance from the original’s location before being pulled down in 1643 (Historic England list entry number 1236708 (Grade II*) Fig.6).

Below - Fig.6: The Eleanor Cross at Charring Cross, London. Stephen Richards (CC-BY-SA-2.0).

Manchester’s St Peter’s cross is of a hexagonal plan (Fig.4) with five diminishing steps leading to the base of the cross (the sixth being a modern addition featuring uplighters). This base register includes an inscription carved in Uncial-type lettering—Roman lettering dating to the fourth century BC (Fig.7)—that reads:

'This cross erected ad 1908 records the place where the church of Saint Peter Stood from AD 1794 to 1907'

Below - Fig.7: Detail of the inscription on the St Peter’s Church Memorial Cross, Manchester. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Rather than being built in the same style as Wyatt’s Church, the cross is Gothic: this is both curious and noteworthy. The choice to carve the memorial’s dedication in Uncial lettering, rather than a writing style typical of the medieval period matching the style of the cross’s architectural and sculptural form, is similarly curious and internally contradictory.

The memorial’s purpose is especially clear, and the decision to erect in in Gothic form does make sense—Gothic was the style of architecture most commonly associated with Christian churches, and this, therefore, refers suitably to Wyatt’s Church. The cross’s overt Christian imagery is clear: its cresting takes the form of a Christian processional cross and its central shield features, in typical Gothic Black Letter writing (unlike the Uncial inscription below), IHC, the first three letters of Jesus’ name in Greek (Fig.8).

Below - Fig.8: Detail of the ornamental cresting (with IHC) on the St Peter’s Church Memorial Cross, Manchester. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Between the base of the St Peter’s Cross and the cresting finial is a swept-in register including a quatrefoil—four-lobed cusp shape—panel with crenulated brattishing above. Out of this rises a clustered Gothic column—a device typical of revived Gothic architecture of the eighteenth century. Between the columns, standing on a pedestal, is an angel holding a shield that displays a pair of keys crossed; the heraldic shield ascribed to St Peter based upon his attribute of the key (to heaven) depicted in art (Fig.9).

Below - Fig.9: Detail of the ornamental detailing on the upper registers of the St Peter’s Church Memorial Cross, Manchester. © Peter N. Lindfield.

This is derived from the Gospel of Matthew, 16:19, wherein Jesus says to Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in heaven”.

The second structure considered in this post has nothing to do with religion, but twenty-first century commerce: Two, St Peter’s Square (Fig.10). This modern office structure was erected to designs by Ian Simpson Architects on the site previously occupied by four buildings: Bennett House; Century House; Clarendon House; and Sussex House. These buildings weren’t listed at the time of demolition; it was a controversial project given the significance of the Century House, which was built for the Friends Provident Society in 1934.

Below - Fig.10: North-West and South-West façades of Two, St Peter’s Square, Manchester. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Eddy Rhead from the Manchester Modernist Society also commented on the plans at the time - as seen here in a Manchester Evening News report. Further criticism of the proposed plan is recorded in the Architects’ Journal, and accessible here.

Below - Fig.11: Detail of the Gothic ornament on the South-West façade of Two, St Peter’s Square, Manchester. © Peter N. Lindfield.

The building’s north-west façade facing St Peter’s Square is simply a network of verticals and horizontals. It’s slim South-West façade, by happenstance—or perhaps not—facing the St Peter’s Church memorial Cross discussed above, presents a trio of different tracery patterns (based upon the tri-lobed trefoil; four-lobed quatrefoil; and intersecting circles) (Fig.11). All of these patterns are typical of, and clearly derived from, medieval architecture. The 11-story office building was constructed as a speculative venture (completed in 2017), but it blends the modern with the historic; the historic Gothic tracery patterns are also repeated in the building’s lobby as an illuminated installation (Fig.12).

Below - Fig.12: Interior Gothic screen in the Lobby of Two, St Peter’s Square, Manchester. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Both of the examples considered here demonstrate the vitality and continued relevance of the Gothic architectural aesthetic, even within the context of modern-twenty-first century additions to Manchester. Interestingly, this historicism effectively celebrates and perpetuates the city’s surviving Gothic architectural heritage that, rather than dating to the medieval period (such as the Cathedral), was forged in the Victorian period (Fig.13).

Below - Fig.13: Gothic additions to St Peter’s Square made during the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries. © Peter N. Lindfield.

By Dr Peter N. Lindfield 

Image credits - in the captions

Insane Animals is an utterly unique stage show – a time-travelling musical comedy that premieres at HOME from Friday 28 February – Saturday 14 March 2020. Written by George Heyworth and Liv Morris and Directed by Phillip McMahon, follow the wacky tale of two super-glam aliens arriving on earth… and their quest to find out what makes humans human! Bourgeois & Maurice (the creative identities of George Heyworth and Liv Morris!)  – a cabaret duo much-loved for their savage and satirical musical talent – are writing for a large cast for the first time, and sure to thrill. Presented in association with Supercreeps, Insane Animals certainly is intriguing.  Dr Becky Alexis Martin (Lecturer in Human Geography, Manchester Metropolitan University) decided to delve behind the scenes and find out more…

Insane Animals is a spectacularly queer tall tale that takes us from the depths of glittery Mesopotamia, to the verge of political and environmental apocalypse. It meshes the legend of Gilgamesh with a sprinkle of space-age alien drag cabaret, to create a gloriously unfaithful epic that traverses space and time. This sharp and hilarious musical is the collaborative brainchild of HOME’s T1 commission and cult musical comics Bourgeois and Maurice, also known as George Heyworth and Liv Morris, who have conspired to channel the DIY of vaudeville into this fast-paced and confetti-sprinkled confection. Insane Animals begins with a tale of the most ‘sexist, violent, borderline far-right, greedy megalomaniac’ of ancient Mesopotamia, Gilgamesh. He is feared by his subjects and his enemies alike, and widely known for being ‘horrible, phenomenal, abominable and unstoppable’. When we first encounter Gilgamesh on stage, his toxic masculinities are running rampant and uncontrolled. So, can he discover his softer side and accept his own mortality? Equally importantly, can humanity be saved from certain doom by two extraordinarily fabulous extra-terrestrials?

The cast includes not only Bourgeois & Maurice, but also Lockie Chapman, Emer Dineen, Evie Jones, Kayed Mohamed-Mason, Jarrad Payne… and plenty of flair of course! Composer, performer and multi-instrumentalist Victoria Falconer is the highly-anticipated Musical Director.

It is clear that a busy and exciting team are creating a theatrical spectacular no other. With set design from Michael Hankin, lighting designer Sinéad McKenna, costume design from Julian Smith, Andrew Gallimore on make-up design, Manchester-born choreographer Carl Harrison, Assistant Director Heather Carroll and sound designer Kate Harvey – audiences are in for a treat.

I had the opportunity to enjoy a preview performance, and to chat to Australian actor and multi-platinum selling recording artist with The Overtones, Lachlan 'Lockie' Chapman about playing Gilgamesh; and to the co-director of THISISPOPBABY and Insane Animals, Phillip McMahon.

Phillip, could you tell me a little about the creative processes behind Insane Animals?

"Liv and George are my heroes, so for me, the opportunity to work on this production at the peak of their talent is very special. They usually work as a double act and with this commission from HOME, it’s given me the liberty to create more voices and a bigger cast. So, it’s really stretched our capabilities and has been very special and fulfilling for me. You follow the rabbit holes that the show requires. The amazing thing about Bourgeois and Maurice is that they are from the queer underbelly of performance, that really great territory. They also have great theatre chops, as they are huge musical fans and their knowledge is amazing. They are the smartest and nicest people in showbusiness, so this has been a very joyful room. On this occasion, the planets have aligned beautifully!"

Lockie, I loved the way that you resurrected the antihero and slotted him into the present day. What did you draw upon, and who were your present-day influences while playing Gilgamesh?

"It’s a 4000 year old story that’s been brought into the future, but in that pantomimic way, so you still have the goodie and the baddie. Gilgamesh, Bourgeois and Maurice have this fight towards the end, when we have all been dragged into the future so we can live eternally – but then Gilgamesh discovers that he is still mortal. It’s really three-dimensional, this fight between two hopeful loons who fly in with their remote-controlled spacecraft, and this old king. You asked about my influences, and I keep thinking of Theresa May! She’s this contemporary version of the “tyrant king” who softens up, warms up, and eventually becomes both a stranger in a modern land and a human being. So, I’m definitely thinking of Theresa May, but there’s also maybe a hint of Patsy from Ab-Fab. So, Gilgamesh is a mixture of Patsy and Theresa in an explosion of beautiful songs and amazing choreography."

Phillip, how does your show highlight the contemporary issues of our time?

"You could easily just describe the show as satirical and camp, but to sustain an audience, and as our audiences are smarter than ever, you need to find some resonant truths. We have to make the audience feel something, and by presenting Gilgamesh as a despot who is going through crisis, it allows us to see everyone as being fundamentally human. You don’t apologise for people’s actions, but as discourse in modern society has become so tense and fragmented, then it’s good to launch back in and say, human interaction is the thing that might bring us back."

Lockie, what was it like to get back into character after playing with The Overtones?

"Getting into character is entertaining, it’s so much fun to be playing the baddie! However, I’m never going to play the goody with this voice, it’s like Hades! I felt so lucky to be offered the part, and to come over from playing with The Overtones to this. It feels a lot like playing a gig, you can eyeball the audience and I love to be a part of it – it’s a wonderful musical rock-gig drag show! I studied acting, and I originally moved to the UK with the best intentions of becoming an actor. Instead, I joined a band, we got signed to Warner Music and the rest is history. From that perspective, performing with Insane Animals has been a new and exciting experience. With The Overtones, all I’ve had to do for the last eight years is to remember three minutes of lyrics – so learning eighty pages of text was a new challenge. It’s been a wonderful experience though, with a great bunch of people and a rocking show!"

Insane Animals' 'queer unravelling of past and present, fact and fiction, life and death' opens at HOME on Friday, 28 February 2020 and is an absolute must-see for anyone who enjoys vaudeville, queer comedy and shimmery satire. I am looking forward to it already! Book tickets online here. 

Images: provided by HOME

]]> stuart.aiken@marketingmanchester.com (Visit Manchester) http://www.visitmanchester.com/ideas-and-inspiration/blog/read/2020/02/home-and-bourgeois-and-maurice-present-insane-animals-a-time-travelling-musical-ready-to-blast-audiences-into-the-future-b1099#comments1099 Mon, 24 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT http://www.visitmanchester.com/ideas-and-inspiration/blog/read/2020/02/a-hidden-gem-in-salford-arlington-house-bloom-street-b1098 The sixth instalment as part of an ongoing series for Haunt Manchester by Dr  Peter N. Lindfield  FSA, exploring Greater Manchester’s Gothic architecture and hidden heritage. The sixth instalment as part of an ongoing series for Haunt Manchester by Dr Peter N. Lindfield FSA, exploring Greater Manchester’s Gothic architecture and hidden heritage. Peter’s previous Haunt Manchester articles include features on Ordsall Hall, Albert’s Schloss and Albert Hall, and the Mancunian Gothic Sunday School of St Matthew’s. From the city’s striking Gothic features to the more unusual aspects of buildings usually taken for granted and history hidden in plain sight, a variety of locations will be explored and visited over the course of 2020. In this article he explores ‘A Hidden Gem in Salford’, Arlington House on Bloom Street, close to The King’s Arms.

Peter will also be incorporating Arlington House into his ‘Gothic Connections’ guided walk between Salford and Manchester on Thursday 26 March (6.45-8.45pm) as part of Not Quite Light Festival 2020 (bookable here). This event is supported by Haunt Manchester. 

Dr Peter N. Lindfield FSA is a Senior Research Associate in the Departments of English and History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has published widely on Georgian Gothic architecture and design broadly conceived, as well as heraldry and the relevance of heraldic arts to post-medieval English intellectual, cultural, and aesthetic culture. Last year, as part of Gothic Manchester Festival 2019, he co-organised an event at Chetham’s Library Baronial Hall with Professor Dale Townshend titled ‘Faking Gothic Furniture’. This involved discussing the mysterious George Shaw (1810-76), a local Upper Mill lad who developed an early interest in medieval architecture and heraldry, going on to create forgeries of Tudor and Elizabethan furniture for a number of high-profile individuals and places at the time, including Chetham’s!

Currently Peter is completing his Leverhulme-funded research project exploring forged antiquarian materials in Georgian Britain, and also working on the recently re-discovered Henry VII and Elizabeth of York marriage bed, which itself was the inspiration behind many of Shaw’s so-called ‘Gothic forgeries’.

Below - Fig.1: Nicholls Hospital: façade facing the A57. © maps.google.com

Thomas Worthington (1826–1909), a Manchester-based architect, is certainly familiar to readers of my recent architectural post for Haunt on the Visit Manchester site. I have covered Worthington’s Memorial Hall (1864–66) here, and his City Police and Session Courts complex (1867–73) here. Worthington also designed numerous other buildings in central and Greater Manchester, including Nicholls Hospital (1879–80), Ardwick, (Fig.1) which has latterly housed the Ellen Wilkinson High School; this imposing structure on the A57, Hyde Road, shares numerous visual and aesthetic similarities with buildings realised earlier in Worthington’s career.

Of the Hospital’s architectural features and characteristics similar to Worthington’s earlier buildings, perhaps the most obvious is the used of red brick and yellow sandstone in a considered manner to create a polychrome effect typical of the Victorian Gothic Revival. This polychrome effect, as noted in my earlier post on his Memorial Hall, followed the suggestions of John Ruskin, a notable exponent of, and writer on, Gothic in the Victorian period (Fig.2). Further similarities liking the Hospital to Worthington’s earlier buildings include the use and appearance of the Gothic tower with high-corner turrets, known as bartizans, high-pitched roof, and machicolations. The Hospital’s Gothic Tower is incredibly similar to, if a simplified version of, the corner tower on the Minshull Street façade of the City Police and Session Courts building (Fig.3).

Below - Fig.2: John Ruskin, Loggia of the Ducal Palace, Venice, 1849–50. 08.227.39. Courtesy of www.metmuseum.org.

Below - Fig.3: Comparison of the Gothic towers on Worthington’s Nicholls Hospital (l), and the City Police and Session Courts (r). © Peter N. Lindfield.

Nicholls Hospital was listed Grade II* by what is now Historic England on 3 October 1974 (list entry number 1291812), indicating its high significance to architectural history and Manchester, and on these counts it is equal to Worthington’s Minshull Street court building and the Memorial Hall, both of which are Grade II*. The animal grotesques, so obvious on the Minshull Street façade of the Police and City Session Courts, were once part of the Nicholls Hospital’s façade too, however they were removed from the tower in the twentieth century. Another similarity liking this building with his earlier output is the form of the Gothic windows, especially those projecting from the tower at the roofline.

Arlington House - Bloom Street, Salford 

Above - Fig.4: Bloom Street façade of Arlington House, Salford. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Despite my making a fuss about Worthington’s Nicholls Hospital—an architectural jewel that is today lost in obscurity and hidden in plain sight as an anonymous backdrop to an all-too-congested arterial route in and out of Manchester—this post doesn’t concern the Hospital. This architectural jewel, speaking to Worthington’s style found in his other notable contributions to Manchester’s city centre architecture, introduces and acts as a reference point to the topic of my post: the office building constructed for the Gas Board on Bloom Street, Salford, in 1880. The Gas Board Office building is today known as Arlington House (Fig.4). Grade II listed by Historic England on 18 January 1980 (list entry 1386086), and, hence, slightly less significant than the buildings already mentioned from Historic England’s perspective, it is just off the main thoroughfares of Trinity Way and Chapel Street in Salford, and close to the centre of Manchester. Despite its centrality, Arlington House is easily missed by anyone seeking to explore Manchester’s and Salford’s architectural jewels.

This authorship of this building is a mystery; currently no traced evidence pointing to the architect responsible for the office ‘block’ has come to light, and, as such, it is like so many structures that have lost, or simply do not have any attribution. The building, upon close and careful inspection, can be read like a book. Doing so reveals certain characteristics and architectural devices that are similar to Worthington’s other and earlier buildings in Manchester, including those mentioned already in this post. These similarities have led people to suppose Worthington either designed Arlington House, or that is was designed by someone else in direct imitation of his style. So if not by the hand of the Manchester architect, it can certainly be considered Worthington-esque in flavor.

Above - Fig.5: Comparison of the polychrome on Arlington House polychrome (l) and the City Police and Session Courts (r). © Peter N. Lindfield.

So what makes the case that this is a Worthington project? Firstly, the already mentioned polychrome effect is employed: red brick and yellow sandstone are used in choice ways to highlight the building’s architectural and decorative features, such as columns, arches, and bartizans (Fig.5). Secondly, the tall tower with high-pitched roof and bartizans is also a notable feature of the structure; its centrality of the building’s identity and the specific form and ornament match very closely the towers of the City Police and Session Courts building and Nicholls Hospital (Fig.6), just pared back further. The animal grotesques seen on his other buildings, such as the City Police and Session Courts building, are also found on Arlington house: here they flank the first-floor bay window at the centre of the façade (Fig.7). Much like over the main entrance on the Minshull Street façade of the City Police and Sessions Court building, it is also possible to see Manchester’s coat of arms, but this time instead of appearing in a circle it is located within a barbed quatrefoil; a shape that happens to form the main decorative effect applied to the Minshull street doors to the court building. Finally, each level of window is different on each register, much like found on the City Police and Session Courts building and the Memorial Hall.

Below - Fig.6: Comparison of the towers on Arlington House (l), City Police and Session Courts (c), and Nicholls Hospital (r). © Peter N. Lindfield.

Below - Fig.7: Animal grotesques on the façade of Arlington House. © Peter N. Lindfield.

The short stubby columns characteristic of Victorian Gothic are found flanking the Bloom Street entrance to Arlington House, as well as at the centre of two paired windows above this in the tower; this choice architectural form can also be found on the main entrance to the court buildings on Minshull Street (Fig.8). The architectural elaboration in the area, or vertical ‘bay’, containing the entrance, or main entrance for the City Police and Session Court building, also marks out its importance to the building in a subconscious way.

Despite this raft of close similarities linking Arlington House with numerous other Gothic buildings by Worthington, there is one main difference: the use of round-headed windows on the ground floor. Unlike his other buildings considered here, the round-headed windows compromise the wrought and overwhelmingly Gothic characteristics of the rest of the façade. Does this irregularity suggest another architect? Did Worthington, by 1880, push the envelope of his Gothic architecture beyond the envelope of the pointed arch to include the rounded arch?

Below - Fig.8: Architectural elaboration of the entrances to Arlington House on Bloom Street (l) and the City Police and Session Courts on Minshull Street (r), noting the use of short stubby Victorian Gothic columns. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Well, to my mind, there are further aspects of Arlington House’s façade visible in figs7–8 that are odds with the nature of Worthington’s Gothic. Firstly, the entrance’s archway is ornamented with a band of ten circular floral motifs; these motifs punctuate the arch in an awkward manner where the relationship between plain surface and ornament is quite unlike Worthington’s style. He used such motifs, such as on the upper levels of the City Police and Session Courts building, but the way in which they are deployed here does not chime with their earlier use. Secondly, the trio of quatrefoil ‘tiles’ (alternating x + x) beneath each window of the first-floor bay are equally awkward, too spread out, and not treated in the coherent way that Worthington did, for example, on the Albert Memorial (Fig.9) in front of the Town Hall in Manchester (1862–65), and which will be discussed in a subsequent post. Finally, the tops of the dormer windows are covered in a floral diaper pattern—something that was employed in medieval Gothic architecture, such as on the interior of Westminster Abbey, London, but which Worthington does not appear to have, by 1880, employed in his own exterior architecture. Whilst not preventing Arlington House from being recognized as a building by the Manchester-based architect, to my mind it certainly raises subtle differences—and perhaps even evolutions—in his style.

Below - Fig.9: Detail of the Albert Memorial, Albert Square, Manchester. Photograph by Mike Peel, www.mikepeel.net (CC-BY-SA-4.0).

Irrespective of this question, Arlington House is an easily overlooked and bypassed gem spitting distance from the centre of Manchester. Its form, appearance, and ‘style’ demonstrate the longevity and development of Worthington’s Gothic style. Much like the evolution of Gothic architecture in the medieval period, Gothic architecture in Victorian Britain also developed.

By Dr Peter N. Lindfield

Photographs - credited in the captions 

]]> stuart.aiken@marketingmanchester.com (Visit Manchester) http://www.visitmanchester.com/ideas-and-inspiration/blog/read/2020/02/a-hidden-gem-in-salford-arlington-house-bloom-street-b1098#comments1098 Thu, 20 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT http://www.visitmanchester.com/ideas-and-inspiration/blog/read/2020/02/there-is-so-much-warmth-and-energy-here-the-manchester-open-exhibition-2020-at-home-a-visit-and-artist-interviews-b1090 Running until the 29 March at HOME, The Manchester Open Exhibition 2020 contains the work of over 500 Greater Manchester residents. Steve Marland (former Photography Lecturer at Manchester School of Art and creator of the Modern Mooch site https://modernmooch.com/ ) went along... By Steve Marland (former Photography Lecturer at Manchester School of Art and creator of the Modern Mooch site https://modernmooch.com/ - exploring Modernist architecture and culture).

The year is 2019 - a cry for help goes out across Greater Manchester - a cry from HOME.

It states:“At HOME, we believe that everyone’s an artist. That’s why we’re launching the Manchester Open Exhibition – a major open-submission art show which is open to anyone who lives in Greater Manchester.”

Flash forward to 2020 - there’s a huge gallery full of art, of all shapes, sizes and kinds, arranged in the manner of a hastily assembled jigsaw, very much in the ancient tradition of the Paris Salon. Up close and personal paintings, prints, photographs, mixed-media, moving image and performance, a jumbled up jumble sale of an exhibition, where much - though not all - is for sale.

The private view in January was full of artists’ friends and family, celebrating their moment in the sun, one moonlit winter night.

The work leans heavily toward the figurative and representational, with noted exceptions in the abstraction of Mateusz Beznitz, Gary Andrew Clarke, and Tim Rushton. Spanning loose diaphanous washes of painterly Expressionism, hard edged Neo-Constructivism and a complex organic layered approach to paint.

There are any number of portraits, self or otherwise, naturally occurring or carefully contrived in paint, photography and print along with three-dimensional work.

There are many contrasting approaches to photographic portraiture, the documentary style of Gwen Riley Jones’s Jacky and Lorna, Mark Hobbs’s classically contextualised rendering of Big Stick - Niamh and the studio construct of Elle Brotherhood’s Nap Time.

Stitch, time-based presentations and performance are all part of the all-inclusive deal – why not pep up your life with Tara Collette’s toys poppers potions and pills?

There are landscapes imagined and otherwise, Richard Davies’s hard hitting brutalist photograph Mancunian Way - counterpointed by Jo Begg’s softer award winning etched images of contemporary concrete Balfron Tower. There is Di Terry’s evocation of last year’s moorland fires in the red raw painting Too Close To Home. Drawn from life Jane Cockayne’s vigorous drawings en plein air in North Wales Church Bay Tuff 1&2.

In the round there are the lighter-than-air delicately constructed Spheres of Marian Jazmik, and on the rectilinear side Jacquie Hewitt’s Diatoms textured glass slabs, transparent, angular - elegantly refracting the light. Horace Lindezey wins my heart for foremost titling with Julie Hesmondalgh’s Wedding Dress, a ceramic confection in white and gold encased in a crystal casket.

Overseen by HOME’s Curator Bren O’Callaghan, this is a show of, by and for the people of Greater Manchester, with well over five hundred contributors. The gallery’s drawing power is increased exponentially as mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, along with aunts, uncles, friends and fellow travelers flood through the doors to see the work of their kin and compatriots.

Other highlights include Chrysta Bell photographed by Shay Rowan, Jonathan Hargreaves' Painting For Yelena, the Dad’s Doorways series of ceramics by CJ O’Neill, Derwent Edge photographed by Andrew Brooks, Ian Mckay’s Kes! Kes! C’mon Kes! – Kes, Ruby Tingle’s Slough Mass (Algae), and Tim Rushton’s 6 Epochs. There is also a range of live performances taking place in the gallery space every Thursday from 6pm - Open House Thursdays - see online for details.

There is so much warmth and energy here - a hot bubbling hotchpotch of all that is good about being an artist in modern everyday go-ahead Manchester.

Haunt Manchester spoke to a selection of the artists included to get their views on being a part of this new venture for the city:

Jo Beggs

"I am a hobbyist printmaker, and have been for about fifteen years, fitting in the odd day at the Studio (Prospect Studios in Rawtenstall) around a pretty demanding job as Head of Development for the Manchester Museums Partnership. I’d like to have more time to make work but I guess the restriction sometimes focuses the mind!

"I’ve always loved prints but hadn’t turned my hand to making them until I started working at the Whitworth. The rich print collection there was a real inspiration and I realised that I’d like to know more about the process. I booked a class with printmaker Alan Birch and it’s been a bit of an obsession ever since.

"I’ve had work in Open exhibitions at Sale Waterside, Chester and Stockport but was delighted when HOME announced a Manchester one. It’s a great way for amateurs as well as professionals to get their work seen.

"Selecting what to submit is always a bit of a nightmare. However, I like to show new work, so the two I have in the HOME Open are from the past year. I also tend to choose things that represent my usual work/style, most of which depicts modernist architecture in etching and aquatint.

"I don’t think of myself as having an artistic career – but I am delighted to have sold a work in the show and to have been selected for the bOlder Prize. Maybe I do have an artistic career?! One of the things that has been lovely is that lots of people have said “I saw your work in the HOME Open – I didn’t know you were an artist!”

"I love the eclecticism and energy of the show. I’ve been twice and still not seen half the exhibits. I plan to take time over it in the next couple of weeks."

David Hancock

"I am an artist based in Manchester. I was born here and have lived in the city all my life. I graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1996 and a Masters at Liverpool John Moores in 2010. In 2014, I completed a PhD at University of Salford, and I am a full time lecturer on the Fine Art course. I also teach on the Masters. I have appeared in a number of prominent exhibitions such as the John Moores 21, Young Masters, The New London School (Mark Moore Gallery, LA), and the BP Portrait Prize. I have had solo and group shows across the UK and Europe as well as New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai and Hong Kong. More recently, I have had solo exhibitions at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Touchstones Rochdale, 20-21 Visual Arts Centre in Scunthorpe, and Ruskin Gallery, Cambridge. Later this year I will have a solo exhibition at The Whitaker in Rossendale. I am also the director of PAPER and the art journal, the Fourdrinier.

"I thought [the Manchester Open] would be a fun thing to do as well as getting my work exhibited at HOME. I knew it would be problematic in terms of the hang as they were planning on selecting hundreds of works, but in that context it was nice to just let the work stand and fall on its own. Having visited the show a couple of times, I don't think you can look at it as a whole. You have to look at individual works. I spent about an hour the other day walking around. I noticed works that I had ignored on my first pass. It’s a real hotchpotch of work. It’s nice to see a number of artists I know and works I’m familiar with in another context.

"It was great to see the positive response with thousands of people turning out for the opening. I took a group of Masters students to see it last week. I wanted to them to select two works: one they liked and one they didn’t, and we will discuss them at our next session. I was interested in the lack of information presented alongside each work. The catalogue only has names and titles. It means that you have to consider what the artist was trying to do by just looking at the work. In some instances the title hints at the artist’s intent, but in most the work remains entirely open to interpretation. It is rare that you get to see work in this way. I have no issue with interpretation, but without it in this instance, it makes for a useful exercise in how a work conveys its meaning and what can you learn from this.

"For me it’s an opportunity to signpost people to an exhibition with my work in at a major venue in Manchester. As an artists based in Manchester, it can be really difficult to get shows in your own city. I’ve shown my work in major galleries across the UK and internationally, but never in Manchester itself. But Manchester is where I’m from. It’s where my family and friends are. It’s where my networks are, and sometimes it’s really useful to be able to tell people that you have work in a gallery in Manchester that they can go and visit. It gives you credibility where you live and work to the people you know outside of the art bubble.

"I think this exhibition is for a different audience than myself. There was nothing in the show that I wasn’t familiar with. It wasn’t a surprise to me. I’ve been working as an artist in the city for 25 years, managing studios for most of that, and running a gallery for over 7 of those. I already know what a fantastic city Manchester is for creativity and the immense talent here. I go to exhibitions regularly in the city as well as open studios. I also can understand why some artists chose not to enter and have been critical of it. What I think it does do is make a point, and a very good one, which is that Manchester has a great deal of talent and can compete with anywhere. The term 'local artists' can be very diminishing and patronising. I think the organisations in the city have only started to acknowledge that there is a strong independent scene in the city with an international reach. It has been like this for decades. I was optimistic that the British Art Show opened a dialogue with artists working here, and hopefully that will be embedded into it.

"I heard a rumour that HOME were going to be running the Open every two years. I think that this is a mistake. It would lose its uniqueness. You’d probably end up with mostly the same artists showing new work, which would get boring, and then if you don’t select them, you don’t provide a sense of what’s going on here. It’s a catch 22. There is a danger that selection becomes an issue and it becomes a competition, which goes against its ethos. It would lose its democracy. I think as much as possible they have tried to include everyone. 544 works is a lot and I think they have tried to be as inclusive as possible. Every decade would suffice."

Website: www.david-hancock.com

Instagram: @davidhancock73

Facebook: @david.hancock.71465

PAPER: https://paper-gallery.co.uk/

The Fourdrinier: https://www.thefourdrinier.com/

Elle Brotherhood

"I'm a photographer and Director at On The Brink Studios, which looks to build conversations around creativity, through events and workshops. I mainly specialise in portrait and still life photography for commercial and private commissions. I also make things to sell in the studio.

"I had been thinking all the while what I would enter whilst applications were open. It came to the last day and I thought I just have to enter something! I had our son with me all day. I didn’t want this to stop me and so during his nap (which was around 20 minutes long) I ran around the house, grabbed things that felt significant to me at the time, put them all on and took a series of portraits.

"It was a choice between two images and I still love the other also. I picked the image by seeing what emotions were evoked in me when looking at them all. I sympathised with that version of me. Trying to look after our son and do a good job, the other try to contribute to keeping our business going. I felt the image I chose had a phone in, I wanted that as I felt I’d done so much business work on it during this time. The position was also something for me. The way I’m kind of suspended, trying to balance it all.

"I think [the Manchester Open] has helped already in sparking my creativity after some time and giving me the confidence to show a part of my life visually and with honesty. To be able to express myself and to figure out where I am and where I’d like to go with my work in the future. I think seeing where you want to go helps you work towards it and I’ll keep on creating and see what happens with it. So far things are good, I’ve had some really lovely responses to the work and to start conversations with art is always a good thing.

"We went on the first night with our son, he had an Artist badge on as well as he was my inspiration. It was so busy and we couldn’t stay long but the emotion running around that building was incredible. People’s pride and uninhibited expression. I’m heading back to have a tour with Bren, man that man can talk about art in a really engaging way. I’m also meeting my mum and aunt there, artists in their own right. We are all artists." https://www.instagram.com/ellebrotherhood/

We also spoke to Christian Asare,  an artist significantly involved in the volunteer-led community action group Rainbow Noir, who led an Open Door Tour of the Manchester Open exhibition back in January:

“My name is Christian Asare; I’m British Ghanaian, 30, Manchester based and a multi-disciplinary artist. My work is an exploration of language, race and culture across often overlapping disciplines. It's influenced by my culture, environment and history.

“I paint mainly in oils, write poetry and prose and I’m also trained in 12 subgenres of dance, with a specialisation in Afro contemporary urban choreography, movement and performance.

“My tour at the Manchester exhibition sought to explore the various aspects of perception and interpretation when viewing visual art. As a Visual Artist, I wanted to encourage audiences in the Rainbow Noir Tour to explore visual Art using more than just their eyes and minds. Rather than focusing solely on the content and composition of the artworks, I encouraged the group to explore using their other senses, discussing the effect texture, form and even smell have on individual perception, image content and depth of understanding when viewing a new work.

“With a smorgasbord of eclectic curated works from a plethora of Artists across a broad range of mediums, I found the Manchester Open exhibition to be an exciting platform for emerging artists in Manchester.

You can find my Artwork, information on future exhibitions and contact details for commissions on Instagram @xtianasare.”

The Manchester Open runs until Sunday 29th March at HOME, including a full programme of tours, events and interventions.

https://homemcr.org/exhibition/manchester-open/

#mcropen2020

Photographs 1, 2 & 3 by Jason Lock. The rest - provided by the artists. 

I arrived for a ghost walk at Salford Quays on the eve of Storm Ciara, which was a blisteringly cold and windy night by all standards and set the tone perfectly for the evening ahead. Our group were gathered to enjoy an evening of storytelling featuring some of the more well-known and favourite tales of our guide, Jonathan Schofield. The walk lasted just over an hour, looping around the Quays and over bridges until returning to our starting destination at the Lowry Theatre - where we were to speak with Ghost Stories writer co-writer Jeremy Dyson.

During the ghost walk, we were provided with a healthy amount of ghost tales to whet our appetites, along with a good deal of factual and historical background as well. For example, the walk began with Jonathan detailing the downfall of Bonny Prince Charlie, specifically noting how he passed through Manchester and attempted to raise soldiers for his army. It was here that the first ghost story of the night was told, that of the tragic love story of Jamie Dawson and his fiancée. Always a good way to start an evening of ghostly tales is one that features star-crossed lovers divided by death, and so I found this to be a great start to the walk. The historical background information may have felt a little lengthy, but this was cleverly interspersed with stories, with more to come…

I found the most interesting story to be that of Lavinia Robinson – involving a bridge over the canal… under which she was found many years before. The story of her being trapped in frozen ice for weeks on end - while the icy wind whistled around us - was particularly chilling, and it felt as though the ghost itself might make an appearance for us. It was particularly atmosphericwhen at the very mention of Lavinia, the wind dropped completely, as though just saying her name would call her into our presence. For me, this moment was the pinnacle of the evening, as it felt as though the elements themselves were working to entertain us alongside our guide.

It was unfortunate that due to the weather conditions of the approaching storm, the last scene of the walk took place inside the less eerie (but much more comfortable) Lowry Mall! This was an apt decision however, as it certainly was cold beside The Quays! The story of a famed opera singer was last to be told to us, as it had the air of a celebrity scandal written all over it as well as a tragedy to coincide. Our guide Jonathan promised our group that there would be a rather haunting surprise at this point, should we find ourselves in need of a good scare! Rather than give any clues… I would recommend anyone considering attend one of Jonathan Schofield’s ghost walks for themselves. (Pictured below - from left to right: Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman)

By the time we reached the conclusion of the walk, I found myself excited for the Q&A we were to take part in with Jeremy Dyson – a brilliant opportunity. It was during our roundtable discussion that I found him to be as much of a fan of classic horror as myself, which was unsurprising considering his own works in horror stage and cinema. He noted there was a range of films and literature that has influenced his work in many different ways, though I would like to highlight the show’s apparent parallels with Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, another stage production that encourages audiences never to reveal the secrets of its plot nor the final ending of the show. Ghost Stories does the same thing, and I feel this is a fitting nod to classic stage productions as it shows how heavily the audiences’ role in the production is key to its success.

Dyson also discussed how comedy and horror are interwoven together in Ghost Stories, not taking itself too seriously but never at risk of becoming a farce. He said he felt it was important that it was there, and I cannot but help agree - as there is often comedy to be found even in the darkest of times. It was this mention of the blending of comedy and horror in Ghost Stories that made me really wish to go and see the show for myself.

 I knew nothing about the show before going to attend the ghost walk or the Q&A, but I left feeling excited to know more and to witness for myself this spectacle I was promised. Ultimately, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the idea of a show having the audience become as much a part of the production itself as any other member of cast or crew.

Become part of it and see for yourself, as Ghost Stories runs at The Lowry on 18-22 February 2020, part of a UK tour.

By Emily Jackson

Images provided with thanks to The Lowry 

An exciting collaboration between Gecko and Mind the Gap theatre companies, 'a little space' runs at Manchester’s HOME from 12-15 February. Dr Becky Alexis Martin (Lecturer in Human Geography, Manchester Metropolitan University) went along to watch…

The claustrophobic yet lonely experience of urban tower block living is channelled by this thought-provoking piece of physical theatre. The play opens with a sparse and archaic set, featuring an iron bedstead and an old T.V. set. However, its themes have arguably never been more pertinent. As more of us live precariously in close-proximity rented accommodation, so too are our homes are haunted by their previous occupants, and our neighbours. A Little Space delves into this private space to explore both banal and fantastical experiences of home, and the irrationalities that emerge when we are alone. We may wish for a little space of our own, but within the tower-block our wishes are rarely fulfilled, and we are never truly alone.

An entanglement of brass pipes provides a conduit around which the performance unravels, as several intersecting lives collide across past, present and future space. The cast’s exaggerated acting and the performativity of their actions and reactions, bring to mind the caricatures that we create of our own unseen yet all too-well known neighbours. I recalled my own past neighbourly pedigree of bad musicians playing tuneless dirges, the heavy tread of footsteps above my bedroom, and of strange doors slamming mysteriously in the depths of the night. These exaggerated depictions can also be strangely distancing, sometimes making it difficult to care for the character’s individual narratives.

In a little space, comic micro-dramas play out before our eyes, and we become voyeurs of the quotidian. We see an inattentive father in thrall to his television, his daughter pleading for his attention, while the skit is wryly sound-tracked by the Coronation Street theme tune. In another skit, a couple clean their teeth in perfect synchronicity, scrub-scrub-spit, enacting someone else’s unrealistic dream of perfect harmony. A woman is haunted by her surrounding human landscape, covering her face with her hands while surrounded by the spectres of other inhabitants, as writhing as hands thrust out through floorboards to drag her down into her own personal hell. a little space channels J.G. Ballard’s High Rise as it explores the discord of the tower block, through many exchangeable and timeless vignettes. The exceptional lighting and soundscapes create a complex suffocating miasma, where fluttering lights and startling noises mingle with nostalgic tunes. There is no linear plot to a little space, as it mimics its resident’s directionless lives.

This thought-provoking play could be described as brutalist theatre, where the humdrum experiences of city dwelling have been stripped to their essence and presented with humour, but without excess sentiment. A must-see for those who have ever inadvertently shared their space with others.

Photography - by Tom Woollard

Lucy Dusgate brought together a collection of work by ten international artists for the exhibition – The State of Us – which runs until the end of this month. (Sunday, 23 February)

At the event, she will raise the question if technological intervention has out-paced natural order and open-up a discussion about humans engineering evolution.

The artists that feature have experimented with the body and technology to transform, manipulate, reinvent or reshape how we see and understand ourselves. Work is on display from Belgium, Canada, Germany, the Philippines, Russia, the UK and the USA.

Commenting on the success of the exhibition to date, Dusgate, said: “The public response to The State of Us has been great. Body modification is a very emotive topic – and this exhibition looks at it in the extreme – from the grotesque to the beautiful.”

The State of Us is the latest contemporary art exhibition at The Lowry and forms part of their commitment to presenting the best experimental art to audiences.

The exhibition features a collection of work by ten international artists and will run until Sunday, 23 February (2020).

The exhibition questions if technological intervention has out-paced natural order and examine if humans are engineering evolution.

The artists that feature have experimented with the body and technology to transform, manipulate, reinvent or reshape how we see and understand ourselves.

One of the most influential and ground-breaking musicians of all time, Björk’s festival exclusive set will close bluedot  with a uniquely commissioned performance alongside Manchester’s famed Halle Orchestra featuring incredible bespoke projections on the Lovell Telescope.

Also topping the bill are indie-electro giants, Metronomy. Following rave reviews for their latest studio album “Metronomy Forever” the electropop pioneers will take to the main stage on Saturday to deliver a wonky nu-disco set chock full of dancefloor masterpieces and stone-cold crowd pleasers. 

Confirmed for Friday night is one of the planet’s best-loved dance acts, Groove Armada. With a career spanning more than 20 years featuring chart-topping hits such as “Superstylin” and “I See You Baby” it’s safe to say their live show will open bluedot 2020 with a party!

Other confirmed acts include psychedelic space rockers Spiritualized, disco diva Roisin Murphy, techno fusionist Squarepusher, electronic/ambient originals Tangerine Dream, reborn indie experimentalists Ride, Daniel Avery, EOB (the new solo project of Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien), Seth Troxler’s new Lost Souls of Saturn project, HAAI, BC Camplight , Anna Meredith, Henge, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Pussy Riot, BCUC, Sinkane, Chk Chk Chk, Tourist, Pongo, Tim Burgess, The Lovely Eggs, Fatoumata Diawara, A Certain Ratio, Onipa, Lanterns On The Lake, Rosie Lowe, Homoelectric  Nihiloxica,  All We Are, Melt Yourself Down and Psychedelic Porn Crumpets.   

Elsewhere on the line-up is electronic legends 808 State, deep house specialists Crazy P, A Guy Called Gerald, AIF Award nominated Oh My God! It’s The Church, Liz Lawrence, Dry Cleaning, Los Bitchos, Just Mustard, Julia Bardo, Black Futures, Mark Radcliffe’s UNE, Porridge Radio, Intergalactic republic of Kongo, Plastic Mermaids, Lazarus Kane, Holodrum,  Sinead O’Brien, Ttrruuces, The Goa Express, Otis Mensah, Robin Richards, The Starlight Magic Hour and Indian Queens.

Back by popular demand are the late night parties with DJ Yoda presents Stranger Things leading the bill. Stranger Things fans can expect favourites from 1983 laced with samples from the Netflix original series from Dolly Parton and Toto to The Clash and Joy Division. Also announced today is Manchester based four-piece Henge [DJ set], Too Many Man,  DJ Acid Rephlux,  Regal Disco, DJ Riv, Princess Leia & Han Solo’s Wedding Disco, Discolypso,  Good Afternoon DJ’s and  DJ Fallback bringing some deep space disco to the festival.

Also announced is a small taste of things to come with bluedot’s culture and science programme, with the Dot Talk themes set to explore futurology, consciousness, artificial intelligence and the depths of space via astrophysics and astronomy (full details announced in Spring).

Beyond Dot Talks, highlights among the arts and culture offering include Celebrating 42: Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Live, a stage show featuring series performers and producers, written especially for bluedot; Is David Bowie a God? a comedic, musical exploration of the legend’s messianic status; the Pankhurst Sessions, a programme of talks, panels and screening curated by the activist and great grand-daughter of Suffragettes leader, Helen Pankhurst. Also announced today include performances by Phil Jupitus as the festivals artist-in-residence and British comedian, actor and director Adam Buxton who is known for his appearances in films such as ‘Hot Fuzz’, ‘Stardust’ and ‘Son of Rambow’ and most recently his podcast, the ‘Adam Buxton Podcast’.

For kids and family, a raft of entertainment is yet to be announced, but so far includes the Intergalactic Planetary kids rave with Big Fish Little Fish, Jedi Training, the Luminarium, a dedicated Big Bang Stage for kids, alongside an enormous range of science-focused activities, workshops and live experiments across the Star Fields.

For relaxing after dark, take a stroll to the Outer Space area, featuring an expanded fire garden and a host of sonic sculptures, or wander into the Star Fields while spectacular projections illuminate the towering Lovell Telescope.

bluedot 2020 is the fifth chapter of the ground-breaking event which has seen headline performances from the likes of Kraftwerk 3-D, New Order, The Chemical Brothers, Pixies, The Flaming Lips, Underworld and Jean-Michel Jarre, plus high-profile talks from Brian Cox, Helen Sharman, Alice Roberts and Richard Dawkins.

The full science, arts and culture and family programmes will be announced in the coming weeks. For tickets and information visit: discoverthebluedot.com

It is no secret that Albert’s Schloss and Albert Hall at 27 Peter Street in Manchester are at the centre of the city’s night life. It is this location which is the focus of the fifth instalment as part of an ongoing series for Haunt Manchester by Dr Peter N. Lindfield FSA, exploring Greater Manchester’s Gothic architecture and hidden heritage. Peter’s previous Haunt Manchester articles include features on Thomas Worthington's Memorial Hall, Ordsall Hall, the Mancunian Gothic Sunday School of St Matthew’s and the City Police and Session Courts in Manchester city centre, on Minshull Street. From the city’s striking Gothic features to the more unusual aspects of buildings usually taken for granted and history hidden in plain sight, a variety of locations will be explored and visited over the course of 2020.

As part of Not Quite Light Festival 2020 (see the Haunt Manchester coverage here), Peter is also leading a ‘Gothic Connections’ dusk walk on the 26 March – with the route starting at Salford Cathedral and criss-crossing the River Irwell, exploring various examples of Victorian architecture along the way and the relationship between the two cities (tickets are available online now). This event is supported by Haunt Manchester.

Dr Peter N. Lindfield FSA is a Senior Research Associate in the Departments of English and History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has published widely on Georgian Gothic architecture and design broadly conceived, as well as heraldry and the relevance of heraldic arts to post-medieval English intellectual, cultural, and aesthetic culture. Last year, as part of Gothic Manchester Festival 2019, he co-organised an event at Chetham’s Library Baronial Hall with Professor Dale Townshend titled ‘Faking Gothic Furniture’. This involved discussing the mysterious George Shaw (1810-76), a local Upper Mill lad who developed an early interest in medieval architecture and heraldry, going on to create forgeries of Tudor and Elizabethan furniture for a number of high-profile individuals and places at the time, including Chetham’s!

Currently Peter is completing his Leverhulme-funded research project exploring forged antiquarian materials in Georgian Britain, and also working on the recently re-discovered Henry VII and Elizabeth of York marriage bed, which itself was the inspiration behind many of Shaw’s so-called ‘Gothic forgeries’.

Albert’s Schloss and Albert Hall, 27 Peter Street

The building that they occupy is the newest example of Gothic architecture considered yet in this series for Haunt Manchester and Visit Manchester; it is, nonetheless, a really interesting example of Gothic design’s flexibility and, indeed, longevity beyond the confines of the British Middle Ages (the period when the style originated in and evolved during, in structures like Durham Cathedral (Fig.1) and Gloucester Cathedral (Fig.2)).

Below - Fig.1: Durham Cathedral, northern façade from the Galilee Chapel to the North transept. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Below - Fig.2: Gloucester Cathedral, interior range of the Cloisters. Courtesy of Michael D Beckwith (CC0 1.0).

The building considered in this post is Grade II listed by Historic England (list entry number 1246727) and it was added to the register on 30 April 1982 (Fig.3). This grade means that it is of historic significance, but not of the utmost or exceptional significance—grades II* and I are reserved for these structures respectively—but, that said, 92 per cent of all listed buildings come under the grade II status.[1] The Albert Memorial Hall’s real significance today is to Manchester’s social scene, but also, from the perspective of architectural historians, it is an important demonstration of Gothic’s malleability; the former criterion is certainly not what Historic England uses to assign listing grades(!), but the latter is especially revealing. The building’s significance in terms of architecture and design (despite there being a model of the Hall hung from the ceiling of the entrance to Albert’s Schloss) goes, I am sure it is not unfair to say, largely unnoticed by the majority of revellers flocking to the bar and hall upstairs.

Below - Fig.3: Albert Memorial Hall façade viewed from Peter Street. © Peter N. Lindfield (also the featured image for this article). 

Originally built in 1910 as a multi-purpose hall for the Manchester and Salford Wesleyan Mission—one of the main Methodist groups active in Manchester—the Albert Memorial Hall was designed by William James Morley (1847–1930) who had offices in Bolton, Greater Manchester, and Bradford, Yorkshire. Morley submitted the winning proposal for the design of the Albert Memorial Hall, and at this point in his career he had designed numerous Methodist chapels, churches, and schools as far apart as Paisley in Renfrewshire, Scotland, and Helston in Cornwall. Morley’s building is also significant within the context of the Methodist Forward Movement that commissioned large central halls—buildings designed to reach poor city-centre residents left behind when the socially mobile moved out to the suburbs—given that it was one of the largest at the time of construction.

Below - Fig.4: Wesleyan Chapel, Chamberlayne Road, Kensal Rise, London. © Julian Osley (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Below - Fig.5: Beeston Methodist Church, Nottinghamshire. © Andrewrabbott (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The ground floor of the Albert Memorial Hall accommodated offices and lecture rooms (this is now the Albert’s Schloss ‘Beer Palace’), and the upper level housed a large auditorium seating more than two thousand people (disused for decades, but now fully restored and converted into a functioning and popular music venue, Albert Hall). Morley was fully experienced working in a clearly recognisable Gothic style, having designed, amongst other structures, the Wesleyan Chapel, Chamberlayne Road, Kensal Rise, London (1900) (Fig.4), and Beeston Methodist Church, Nottinghamshire (1902), known previously as Chilwell Road Methodist Church (Fig.5). The superficial treatment of the gables rising between the distinctively plain pinnacles located at each corner of the towers in these two earlier buildings, as well as cusp-less tracery in their windows, can be seen as leitmotifs, or traits, of Morley’s Gothic. Generally, it can be observed that the surfeit of minute decorative ornament found in later medieval Gothic architecture, as seen in many Gothic buildings, such as York Minster (Fig.6), was not part of his Victorian reinterpretation of the style.

Below - Fig.6: Western façade of York Minster. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Morley’s pared-back style can be seen to have evolved further when he turned to design the Albert Memorial Hall. The distinctive façade is finished in Burmantofts architectural faience (glazed ceramics), with the glazed surface of the pottery tiles easy being easy to wash—particularly helpful given the build-up of grime from the pollution of industry. The overtly Gothic characteristics on the Peter Street façade of the structure include the panelling with low-rise ogee arches in the heads (Fig.7). The ogee arch is a more decorative variant of the Gothic pointed arch, and it became especially popular in England’s Decorated (c.1290–1350) and Perpendicular (1332–Tudor period) Gothic phases. These ogee panels on the Peter Street façade, curiously, do not align with the vertical glazing bars (mullions) of the two top-most window registers; they, consequently, deviate from the general alignment principles typically governing both Classical and Gothic architecture.

Below - Fig.7: Detail of the ogee panelling on the Peter Street façade of the Albert Memorial Hall. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Below - Fig.8: Detail of the ‘Gothic’ tracery windows on the Peter Street façade of the Albert Memorial Hall. © Peter N. Lindfield.

The uppermost windows of the hall’s façade match Morley’s Gothic buildings already mentioned in that they are entirely absent of the C-shaped cusp motifs seen in the windows of York Minster (Fig.6). The notable difference, however, is that the Gothic windows on the Peter Street façade are expressed without reference to the pointed arch (Fig.8); where we would typically expect to find pointed arches governing the forms of lancets, as well as windows head, these features are made entirely from rounded forms: in essence a classicised version of Gothic. The same applies to the pediment over the central bay of the Peter Street façade. Even the bay window’s string of blind pendants seen on the far left of Fig.3 should be made from pointed arches, but they are, instead, rounded. These Classical forms match the Baroque (Classical) characteristics of the entranceway to Albert Hall to the east (right hand side) of the structure (Fig.9).

Below- Fig.9: Comparison of the Gothic and Renaissance details of the Peter Street façade of the Albert Memorial Hall. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Morley’s Albert Memorial Hall, consequently, is designed in a peculiar style where Gothic architectural components and characteristics are executed according to Classical forms. The choice of at least some Gothic elements for a Wesleyan Hall, however, makes sense, given the style’s traditional association with Christian structures. Morley’s modification of the Gothic style, and the building’s execution in modern-manufactured materials, ultimately speaks to the time that it was designed and constructed.

By Dr Peter N. Lindfield 

Photographs - credits provided in the captions

Explore alternative angles of the cityscape and be inspired. This year the festival hub is New Bailey in Salford – located just a few minutes’ walk away from Deansgate and an ideal location to consider the fascinating connections between Manchester and Salford, as well as new connections being made as this fast-growing development transforms.

According to the founder, curator and artistic Director of Not Quite Light Festival, Simon Buckley:

“Salford and Manchester sit side by side, and I criss cross into both cities all the time, so I'm constantly aware of the idea of being connected. This year it seemed to make sense to take this notion and make it a theme of the festival. In 2021 we'll do something really ambitious with the festival, and this year is vital in laying down some foundation ideas as we head towards that."

The Not Quite Light Festival – now in its third edition - takes its inspiration from Simon’s Not Quite Light photography project; considering the changing landscape, particularly of Salford and Manchester, in the half-light. His approach also considers the development of the cityscape and its buildings; and over the last two years, he has been documenting the construction of three new buildings at New Bailey, as the area evolves for future generations.

Hence the exciting choice of New Bailey as the festival hub – and it is here that Simon will be displaying some of his own work ‘New Bailey – Photographs of Construction’ over the course of festival (10am-5pm each day) in Riverside House, with the added experience of soundscapes recorded on the construction sites.

Yet as well as New Bailey, festival experiences and events will be taking place in a range of locations – including Chapel Street and the University of Salford. They certainly are intriguing too! Consider ‘Disco Tesco’ on Friday 27 March, a free event inviting people to come along to the Tesco Extra Café in Salford Precinct at dusk (7-10pm) to enjoy some international food and music – with DJs from a range of different nations on the decks.  Salford Precinct is after all a place where people from all over the world living in the local community shop together, with ‘Disco Tesco’ being an event designed to celebrate those connections.

Community connections are a long-standing feature of the Not Quite Light Festival – a festival by the people for the people. The curatorial approach has strived to find, include and encourage talent within the neighbourhoods of Salford, celebrating it as a place where people live, work and create.

An example of this is the chance to see the live recording of the award-winning 2 Shot Podcast, which will be taking place on the 28 March (3.30-5.30pm) at The New Adelphi Theatre in Salford. Using the title ‘Salford – a city of talent’, host Craig Parkinson will talk to a range of special guests about why so many talented actors, musicians and creatives have emerged from Salford over the years. Sit in the audience and enjoy two hours of inspired conversation.

The acclaimed actor and director Albert Finney – who sadly passed away earlier last year – is one such example of a pioneering creative born in Salford. His work is the inspiration for one of the Not Quite Light Festival events, as a screening of his cult classic Charlie Bubbles – a film that he both directed and starred in – will take place at Salford’s New Adelphi Theatre just before the 2 Shot Podcast Live Episode, at 1-3pm. This screening will include an introduction by Dr Kirsty Fairclough from Salford University.

Not Quite Light Festival’s determination to celebrate Salford, creativity and connecting people with it is clear. Other events in the programme highlighting this include a tour of Chapel Street ‘the evolving heart of Salford’ with local guide Alexa Fairclough on Saturday 28 March, the creation of a ‘Salford time zone’ at New Bailey using light, music and storytelling from Walk the Plank with students at Salford University – and so much more.

Gaining a reputation for its innovative approach, the festival has already received one City Life Award and was nominated and highly praised in the City Life Awards 2019. With last year’s festival (see Haunt Manchester’s coverage here) featuring over 34 events, four world premieres and thrilling firsts – such as the first ‘Pilgrimage’ that involved 14 people walking the course of the River Irwell from source to Salford, raising over £1500 for Manchester homelessness charity The Booth Centre – it certainly has left an impression.

Pilgrimage is also going ahead for 2020 on Friday 27 March, with 16 spaces available to join Reverend Andy Salmon from Sacred Trinity church to walk the river route- a nearly 30 mile stretch – this year raising money for Henshaws, a charity supporting people with visual impairment and one of the oldest charities in Greater Manchester.

Another charitable event as part of Not Quite Light Festival 2020 is a ‘Dinner in the Dark’ on Thursday 26 March at Firefly restaurant, New Bailey – with 25 places available for this exclusive event. With all ticket proceeds going to Henshaws, this is an opportunity to experience a sumptuous two course meal like no other, relying on taste rather than vision – as diners will be blindfolded, in turn becoming aware of how the senses transform when we are unable to see.

And this is festival that doesn’t just think about its charitable cause – it invites people to empathise, even experience it. How? ‘Unknown Streets’, also raising funds for Henshaws, is a guided walk with a difference – as participants will be blindfolded and accompanied by trained volunteers, learning to consider first-hand what the city feels like to someone who cannot see as we do.

Experiencing the cityscape through moving within it plays a key part in Not Quite Light Festival 2020; with an intriguing night walk of Salford taking place on Friday 27 March, led by writer and Professor of Urban Design Nick Dunn and artist Andy Cropper.

There also is the chance to consider the impressive architectural links between Salford and Manchester, in the form of ‘Gothic Connections’ with an immersive guided walk led by Dr Peter N. Linfield - an expert on Gothic design in Georgian Britain and member of Manchester Metropolitan University’s Centre for Gothic Studies and History Research Centre. Join Peter as dusk falls on the 26 March at the starting point of Salford Cathedral, from where the fascinating route will weave its way back and forth over the River Irwell, exploring the relationship between extraordinary Victorian buildings in the two cities. The event is supported by Haunt Manchester.

According to Peter, who is also working on an article series for Haunt Manchester – exploring the Gothic architecture of the cityscape:

“Gothic architecture was, in eighteen-century Britain, considered to be a ‘dark’, haunting, spooky, and ghoulish style evocative of terror and oppression (as well as liberty, ancestry, and chivalry). Horace Walpole, the great supporter of Gothic architecture, wrote of the style’s overbearing ‘gloomth’—an effect that he wished to recreate and ‘imprint’ upon his newly-made ancestral Gothic villa built in view of the River Thames in Twickenham, London.

“The ‘Gothic Connections’ tour in turn demonstrates how this architectural mode was imprinted widely upon Manchester’s Georgian and Victorian architecture. Touring the Gothic sights at dusk—including both genuine, medieval Gothic, as well as more modern Victorian reinterpretations of the style—links the style to its popular perception as an oppressive, over-ornamented, and overbearing style. Prepare to be intrigued.”

With other events in the festival programme including the opportunity to be involved creating a giant mural, an Uncertain Spaces exhibition, an event curated and hosted by Manchester Modernist Society, a dawn bike ride, music and poetry blindfolded, Bridgewater Stories and so much more – there is something for all the family.

 Spanning dawn, day, dusk and deep into the night, Not Quite Light Festival 2020 is set to be an enchanting feature and an utterly unique experience to get involved with. Tickets are available for individual events and for more information, visit the festival website: https://notquitelightfestival.com/

All photography by Simon Buckley/Not Quite Light

By Emily Oldfield 

]]> stuart.aiken@marketingmanchester.com (Visit Manchester) http://www.visitmanchester.com/ideas-and-inspiration/blog/read/2020/02/dawn-bike-rides-gothic-dusk-walks-immersive-experiences-and-exhibitions-not-quite-light-festival-returns-to-salford-for-2020-b1085#comments1085 Tue, 11 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT http://www.visitmanchester.com/ideas-and-inspiration/blog/read/2020/02/feast-on-a-horror-legends-season-of-films-inside-stockports-historic-plaza-cinema-with-grimmfest-b1084 Classic horror movies from key directors in the genre, an atmospheric Art Deco setting and options throughout Spring and early Summer – sounds like a winning combination! Classic horror movies from key directors in the genre, an atmospheric Art Deco setting and options throughout Spring and early Summer – sounds like a winning combination! Welcome to ‘Horror Legends Season’, an exciting series of 2020 screenings presented by horror cinema specialists Grimmfest in partnership with The Horror Channel – bringing classic horror films from four genre legends to the big screen at Stockport Plaza Cinema.

Grimmfest are certainly no strangers to presenting some of the best horror and cult films in a range of Greater Manchester venues. Considered one of the UK’s key specialists in horror cinema, they are keen to also celebrate the history– hence how ‘Horror Legends Season’ came about’: allowing audiences to watch a selection of horror films from iconic directors in the genre, in an all-day format!

The season kicked off with a thrilling day dedicated to the director Tobe Hooper on Sunday 9 February, with days dedicated to David Cronenberg (8/3/20), John Carpenter (9/5/20) and Wes Craven (5/7/20) still upcoming and available to book. This is an opportunity to experience four key films from each director, within the elegant setting of Stockport Plaza Cinema – a beautiful example of 1932 Art Deco architecture (pictured below). 

Audiences certainly were impressed with the first event of the season dedicated to Tobe Hooper – an action packed all-dayer (1pm onwards) featuring screenings of the director’s key classics Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and Salem’s Lot.

So what is coming up? Sunday 8 March marks the next date in the season – focusing on David Cronenberg. Again, from 1pm onwards, this is a chance to see four of his directorial icons: Rabid, Videodrome, The Fly and Crash – the latter being Cronenberg’s vivid reimagining of J.G. Ballard’s 1973 novel.

Saturday the 9 May then marks a John Carpenter special from 1pm onwards, with four of his films – Prince of Darkness, Big Trouble in Little China, They Live and In The Mouth of Madness – coming to the Stockport Plaza big screen.

The final event of the season is dedicated to Wes Craven on Sunday 5 July, with screenings of The Hills Have Eyes, Scream, The People Under The Stairs and A Nightmare On Elm Street.

To book tickets for upcoming features of the season, visit the Grimmfest website here. Day passes are available, as well as the ability to buy a ticket to see individual films – at £7.50 each.

Don’t forget, full festival passes are also now available for Grimmfest 2020 – taking place from Wednesday 7 October - Sunday 11 October at the Odeon Great Northern. Expect five cinematically-packed days including over 20 feature films and more than 20 short films, as well as Q&As and celebrity guests – with the first announced as Mick Garris (Masters of Horror, Nightmare Cinema, The Stand).

By Emily Oldfield 

]]> stuart.aiken@marketingmanchester.com (Visit Manchester) http://www.visitmanchester.com/ideas-and-inspiration/blog/read/2020/02/feast-on-a-horror-legends-season-of-films-inside-stockports-historic-plaza-cinema-with-grimmfest-b1084#comments1084 Tue, 11 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT http://www.visitmanchester.com/ideas-and-inspiration/blog/read/2020/02/the-manchester-photographer-whose-new-exhibition-captures-raw-moments-real-life-music-and-more-b1083 David Gleave is a photographer who does not shy away from showing the intricacies of human faces, locking onto a stare – suspending loaded moments in powerful images. David Gleave is a photographer who does not shy away from showing the intricacies of human faces, locking onto a stare – suspending loaded moments in powerful images. An exhibition of his work - featuring iconic subjects such as John Robb, Noel Gallagher, Blossoms and Pete Doherty, as well a selection of street photography taken both in Manchester and across the world – was launched at Cass Art on Manchester’s Oldham Street on Thursday 6 February and is open until 21 February, seven days a week.

Portraits are David’s particular speciality, as is shown by the selection of photographs on display – approximately 100 in total. Rather than showing faces at a distance or attempting flattery, his photographic approach is distinct and raw, often focusing closely on the individual; allowing stories to come to the surface – the lines on skin, signs of vulnerability, strength, honesty.

This methodology is significantly inspired by David’s own admiration of the late Manchester-born (1867) photographer Samuel Coulthurst, who captured candid images of late 19^th  and early 20th century local life on camera. Coulthurst’s approach to showing true life scenes certainly was determined… it is reported he even attempted to disguise himself as a refuse collector so he could hide his camera to take the best street shots![1] His unique images feature areas such as Ancoats and what was the Flat Iron Market area of Salford, showing a range of people at work, their expressions.

According to David:

“Well, having seen Coulthurst’s images most of which were taken in the last 20 years of the 19th century on the streets of Manchester, I was really taken by the fact that despite the photos being over 100 years old he had somehow kept the people alive. The streets and the clothes and the shop fronts and the lack of cars… they all tell  you this is 1890, but when you look at the people’s faces it could be now.

“So in terms of my photography style…  I just wanted to find some people that I could keep alive and hopefully someone looking at my faces in 100 years’ time will feel the same way I felt."

"I choose largely black and white because it instantly gives the image a timeless feel and makes it a bit abstract. I also like to get close to people as that makes portraits more intimate and makes them have more impact. I can’t be doing with portraits of people who are miles away and you can’t see who it is!”

As well as a selection of characterful street shots of Manchester and the people met there, the exhibition also features portraits taken on David’s travels – including a visit to Sri Lanka, closely considering daily life and culture there.

Photographs on display also feature a range of Manchester musicians and bands, from iconic artists to the underground–– including the likes of The Blinders, Rowetta, Cabbage, Shaun Ryder and Afghan Sand Gang.  All still incorporate David’s unique style and attention to detail; as was clearly appreciated at the packed launch.

Spanning 5-9pm on Thursday 6 February, organised and run with flair by Georgina Robinson, the event (sponsored by Sound Moves UK) was an opportunity to be the first to see the exhibition and even to meet the photographer himself.

Here at Haunt Manchester, we talked to David to find out why having this exhibition now means a great deal:

“I started trying to make my own serious photographs six years ago. In that time I have found my ‘voice’ as a photographer.

“My style though is constantly evolving because I devour photography in all forms, prints, books, online etc. and everything that comes in me also comes out of me.

“The exhibition is a celebration of the journey so far.

The most difficult part of curating these images was that for every one that you see on the wall there at least two more that equally deserved to be there but couldn't because of space and budget restrictions!

“Anyway I’m so happy and proud of the ones that are there and survived the cull. Even though I’m so familiar with the pictures they look so good mounted and framed on the wall and I’m looking forward to people seeing them over the next 2 weeks.”

The exhibition of David’s work runs until Friday 21 February and is free to visit at Cass Art, 55-57 Oldham St, Manchester M1 1JR – open seven days a week. To find out more about David and his photography, visit his website.

Do you ever crave a little space? Take solace in an area where you can be yourself, be alone? Many of us do. But what do we do when that aloneness becomes too much? Being alone can be a place people are scared of, just as much as it can be a place of solace. Why does it matter? These themes of aloneness, personal experience and identity will be creatively explored in a new theatre piece titled a little space; the first co-production between Gecko and Mind the Gap theatre companies. It comes to Manchester’s HOME from 12-15 February 2020.

Created by Karen Bartholomew, Rich Rusk, Charli Ward and Dan Watson, with Original Music by Dave Price and Sound Design from Mark Melville, this set to be an immersive encounter with what it means to be alone – blending physical theatre, choreography and imagery together.

Being alone is not necessarily a negative thing and talking about it matters, yet it still seems to be a subject people shy away from. As many as one in seven people in Britain could be living alone by 2039 – according to an Office for National Statistics Report published last year[1]. Aloneness is a situation many face – some by choice or circumstance, others by isolation, others in unhappy relationships. a little space opens up room for discussion; including a number of learning disabled performers lending their insight to the themes explored on stage.

Sometimes having ‘a little space’ can be a freeing thing, yet at other times it can be unpredictable and unnerving. The piece incorporates a setting many of us can connect with – an apartment block – and follows the lives of five people; exploring how they connect and disconnect with each other. Sometimes disconnection and aloneness can occur through choice, yet at other points factors such as isolation, introspection, being afraid, may play a part.

A powerful piece of physical theatre, a little space seeks to make the ordinary extraordinary – exploring how aloneness features in our lives, and both the positives and negatives that arise.

This also marks an exciting collaboration between two theatre companies recognised for their innovation and inclusion.  Bradford-based Mind the Gap is internationally respected in terms of its methodology and working with learning disability artists and arts, whilst Gecko is an award-winning physical theatre company that has travelled the world. a little space marks their debut collaboration together.

According to Rich Rusk of Gecko:

“It is our great pleasure to be collaborating with Mind the Gap, a company we have enormous respect and admiration for. Together we have created a piece about people; about the positives and negatives of living and being alone; the stories unfold in a space that everyone will recognise so it has given us an opportunity to really make the ordinary extraordinary, using a blend of theatre, choreography and dynamic sound design.”

Mind the Gap’s Charli Ward added:

 “Our recent productions - the critically acclaimed ZARA and Mia - each put learning disability at the heart of the story,”

“a little space brings the artists’ experiences to the fore but is fundamentally about us all.”

a little space has already previewed at four venues in autumn 2019 and is now touring the UK for spring 2020. The show has been commissioned by HOME and The Place, London - both of which are staging it this year.

For tickets, visit the HOME website here. 

By Emily Oldfield

Photography - by Tom Woollard

So, you’ve got a weekend to really get to know Manchester - a city that’s steeped in industrial heritage and filled with cutting-edge culture. Manchester has a lot going on: it’s a UNESCO City of Literature, home to four national museums and a place where momentous gigs take place in extraordinary spaces. What are the buildings, attractions, restaurants and bars that will best reveal the city’s spirit? One way to get straight under the skin of this unique place is to take a walking tour with an expert guide: discover Manchester’s secrets or the city’s counterculture through its street art with Skyliner, delve into ‘The Haçienda Years’ with the Manchester Music tour, whet your whistle on the Craft Beer Tour Manchester, experience edible insights into food history and culture on a Scranchester tour, or simply enjoy a comprehensive introduction to the sights of the city centre with a Discover Manchester Daily Guided Walking Tour. And, for all the best places to visit, stay, shop, dance, and eat and drink at, read on.

The first thing to get sorted is accommodation. The Stock Exchange Hotel is one of the newest (and most luxurious) additions to the city, and has the added bonus of The Bull & Bear, a restaurant from Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge, in its domed former trading room. Another newcomer is Hotel Indigo, conveniently located right next to Manchester’s Victoria Station, while The Edwardian Manchester is one of the city’s truly iconic options, with rooms in the former Grade II-listed Free Trade Hall, one of the UK’s oldest buildings, widely known for its rich cultural heritage. 

If you’re arriving on a Friday night, there’s an extra evening to either enjoy a relaxed dinner in one of the city’s best restaurants (we recommend Kala Bistro or El Gato Negro Tapas on King Street), see a play at the UK’s biggest theatre in the round, or experience Manchester’s renowned music scene. A play at the Royal Exchange Theatre is always a rare treat: award-winning productions are staged in what was once the largest trading room in the world (the original trading boards still show the closing day’s figures). Salut Wines nearby is a perfect spot for pre-theatre drinks, while Sam’s Chop House and Mr Thomas’s Chop House are two of the city’s most atmospheric restaurants if you have time for a meal. Alternatively, head straight for cocktails and food at Albert’s Schloss and a gig at the stunning Albert Hall above it or at Gorilla (a short walk away). Music fanatics with stamina have the added option of dancing to a late night DJ set at Refuge by Volta. 

Saturday morning dawns, and with it the eternal question: where to go for breakfast. It would be possible to spend an entire day eating and drinking in Manchester, with plentiful options for the first meal of the day - but Federal Cafe & Bar, with its two excellent sites (opposite Manchester Arndale and on Deansgate), has the edge in this itinerary. Here the Antipodean-inspired menu is laden with eggs, halloumi, avocado and other delicious combinations - the coffee is great, as are the brunch cocktails. The Deansgate branch is close to The John Rylands Library, where you can explore both an astonishing building (only made possible by Manchester’s first industrial multi-millionaire) and one of the finest collections of rare books and manuscripts in the world, or jump off from the Northern Quarter branch to Manchester Art Gallery, with its world-famous selection of pre-Raphaelite paintings. The cafe here is also excellent, which might just be the thing to swing the decision - otherwise head for Mackie Mayor in the Northern Quarter, a cosmopolitan food hall in a converted 1858 Grade II listed market building, for a plethora of lunch options from the resident vendors.

What better way to spend the afternoon than exploring the independent shops in the city’s Northern Quarter? There’s the legendary Piccadilly Records, open since 1978 and selling all kinds of music on vinyl and CDs, superb stationary purveyor Fred Aldous, which has 25,000 art, craft and design products across three floors, plus the quality menswear, accessories and designer trainers at Oi Polloi, quirky gifts unlike any you’ll find elsewhere at Oklahoma and 18 different craft studios where you can buy an eclectic range of jewellery, ceramics, prints and more direct from the makers at Manchester Craft and Design Centre.

The city centre neighbourhood of Ancoats, bordering the Northern Quarter, has skyrocketed in popularity - and is a great area for evening drinks and dinner. Recently refurbished, The Edinburgh Castle pub dates back to 1811; it’s been beautifully redecorated, with cosy, candlelit tables surrounding the wooden bar on the ground floor, and a 36-cover restaurant serving high end food on the first. Canto, opposite, is the sibling of the acclaimed El Gato Negro Tapas, with exquisite Mediterranean tapas on its menu. Both are just off Cutting Room Square, the main hub of Ancoats and home to Hallé St Peter’s, the principal rehearsal and recording venue for the Hallé Orchestra. Also here are The Jane Eyre, which serves cocktails, beers and small plates, neighbourhood bar and kitchen Elnecot, beerhouse Seven Bro7hers, and acclaimed Neapolitan pizzeria Rudy’s Pizza, where it’s worth getting your name down early as there are no reservations and the waiting list can form very quickly. A final mention must go to Mana on Blossom Street, which is Manchester’s first Michelin-starred restaurant in 40 years. Get a table here, and you’re in for an exceptional meal.

For your final day in Manchester, start with something from the Canadian and American-inspired menu at Moose Coffee before heading to visit the Science and Industry Museum and, if there’s time, The People’s History Museum. Housed on the site of the world’s first intercity railway, the superb Science and Industry Museum documents 250 years of discoveries that originated in Manchester and went on to influence the rest of the world. This globally important heritage site is home to a replica of the world’s first computer to store and run a program, nicknamed ‘Baby’. The multi award-winning People’s History Museum nearby is UK’s only museum dedicated to the history of British democracy, is of designated national importance and has around 1,500 objects on display. Both make for a fascinating visit. 

Spend your remaining hours exploring some of Manchester’s best shops, such as independent menswear boutique Lanigan & Hulme where the owners have 40 years of combined experience in fashion and The Whisky Shop, purveyor of a huge range of whiskies including exclusive releases and international blends. Neighbouring department stores Selfridges and Harvey Nichols on New Cathedral Street also offer a wide range of designer and high street labels in luxury surrounds - while Chetham’s Library and the National Football Museum nearby are perfect alternatives for those less retail-inclined. Should you wish to toast your departure, and celebrate the end of a magnificent weekend in Manchester, hangingditch wine merchants is the place to do it. Until the next time!

Above- Fig.1: Exterior façade of the Crown Courts Building, Minshull Street. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Dr Peter N. Lindfield FSA is a Senior Research Associate in the Departments of English and History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has published widely on Georgian Gothic architecture and design broadly conceived, as well as heraldry and the relevance of heraldic arts to post-medieval English intellectual, cultural, and aesthetic culture. Last year, as part of Gothic Manchester Festival 2019, he co-organised an event at Chetham’s Library Baronial Hall with Professor Dale Townshend titled ‘Faking Gothic Furniture’. This involved discussing the mysterious George Shaw (1810-76), a local Upper Mill lad who developed an early interest in medieval architecture and heraldry, going on to create forgeries of Tudor and Elizabethan furniture for a number of high-profile individuals and places at the time, including Chetham’s!

Currently Peter is completing his Leverhulme-funded research project exploring forged antiquarian materials in Georgian Britain, and also working on the recently re-discovered Henry VII and Elizabeth of York marriage bed, which itself was the inspiration behind many of Shaw’s so-called ‘Gothic forgeries’.

The City Police and Session Courts, Minshull Street

Above - Fig.2: Exterior façade of the Crown Courts Building, Minshull Street, showing the Victorian and twentieth-century fabrics. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Located just a stone’s throw from Manchester Piccadilly train station and surrounded by many sleek and unremarkable modern office blocks, the City Police and Session Courts building on Minshull Street (now part of Manchester’s Crown Courts network), is passed by many a tourist and commuter venturing into town, perhaps without a second thought—unless making an appearance in front of a judge and jury! (Fig.1).

This imposing structure, Grade II* listed by English Heritage (now Historic England) on 3 October 1974 (list entry number 1219894),[1] was designed by the architect Thomas Worthington (1826–1909) of Manchester and built between 1867 and 1873. It also notably features a later, very interesting and modern (yet sympathetic) extension constructed between 1993 and 1996 on Aytoun Street and designed by James Stevenson of the Scottish architectural practice of Hurd Rolland Partnership based in Dunfermline, Fife (Fig.2).[2]

Above - Fig.3: Exterior façade of the Crown Courts Building, Minshull Street, showing the Victorian structure’s asymmetric design. © Peter N. Lindfield.

The City Police and Session Courts building, despite the twentieth-century extension, remains a lop-sided, higgledy-piggledy structure that, to some extent—perhaps unintentionally, though surely not—celebrated the freedom of the Gothic style that medieval architecture was cherished for in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in comparison with the more regimented Classical mode (Fig.3). In particular, as emphasized in comparison with Worthington’s earlier Memorial Hall building (1864–66) on Southmill Street (read the Haunt Manchester entry on the building here) that he finished the year before work on City Police and Session Courts began, this asymmetry and aesthetic freedom corresponds with the theories of John Ruskin (1819–1900) who advanced the idea that Gothic celebrated the work of the craftsman. In The Stones of Venice, Ruskin advanced that:

For the very first requirement of Gothic architecture being, as we saw above, that it shall both admit the aid, and appeal to the admiration, of the rudest as well as the most refined minds, the richness of the work is, paradoxical as the statement may appear, a part of its humility. No architecture is so haughty as that which is simple; which refuses to address the eye, except in a few clear and forceful lines which implies, in offering so little to our regard, that all it has offered is perfect; and disdains, either by the complexity or the attractiveness of its features, to embarrass our investigation, or betray us into delight. That humility, which is the very life of the Gothic school, is shown not only in the imperfection, but in the accumulation, of ornament. The inferior rank of the workman is often shown as much in the richness, as the roughness, of his work; and if the co-operation of every hand, and the sympathy of every heart, are to be received, we must be content to allow the redundance which disguises the failure of the feeble, and wins the regard of the inattentive. There are, however, far nobler interests mingling, in the Gothic heart, with the rude love of decorative accumulation: a magnificent enthusiasm, which feels as if it never could do enough to reach the fullness of its ideal; an unselfishness of sacrifice, which would rather cast fruitless labour before the altar than stand idle in the market; and, finally, a profound sympathy with the fullness & wealth of the material universe.[3]

Above - Fig.4: Exterior façade of the Crown Courts Building, Minshull Street, viewed from Auburn Street. © Peter N. Lindfield.

In comparison with Worthington’s slightly earlier Memorial Hall, the City Police and Session Courts building is significantly more ornate and also demonstrates an increased inventiveness over the Venetian Gothic style of his earlier work. Despite these differences, the Crown Court building is firmly in his style: namely the choice use of both brick and sandstone to create, in some instances, alternating blocks of colour—polychrome—on the top-most arches as well as choice components, such as keystones, quoins, entablatures, and machicolations (Fig.4).

Above - Fig.5: Detail of the windows on the exterior of the Crown Courts Building, Minshull Street, viewed from Auburn Street. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Each façade of the original Crown Court building has a distinct, though always Gothic, appearance. On the elevation facing Auburn Street each floor has a different window design—the higher the floor the more ornate the window (Fig.5). The basement has square-headed openings, the ground-floor has shallow triangular-headed windows, and the first-floor windows are of the typical Gothic-lancet type.

Above and below - Fig.6: Comparison of the upper gabled ‘blind’ windows and church windows.© Peter N. Lindfield.

Although lacking a large amount of decoration, the choice of window design not only adds variety to the elevation, but the increasing ornament reflects a shift in the importance of each floor: the upper floor being where the court rooms are located. The gabled ends on this façade with Gothic embracing arches housing oculi and lancets also make a significant nod to medieval church windows (Figs 6a and 6b), but the design is generally rephrased and simplified according to Victorian taste, as seen, for example, on the Park Road façade of the University of Oxford’s Museum of Natural History built between 1855 and 1860 by Thomas Newenham Deane and Benjamin Woodward (Fig.7). Like Worthington’s Minshull Street building, Oxford’s Natural History Museum is influenced heavily by the polychrome style of Gothic advanced by Ruskin.

Below - Fig.7: Exterior façade of the University of Oxford’s Natural History Museum. © Peter N. Lindfield.

The Minshull Street façade of the Crown Court building is significantly more ornate on every floor in comparison with that facing Auburn Street both in terms of window design and sculptural ornament (Fig.8). This reflects its greater significance to the building given that it is its entrance front. The lancet-windows and doorways feature a type of short, stubby column that became typical of Victorian Gothic (Fig.9), but which was not typical of medieval architecture (even though columns were included in the style).

Below - Fig.8: Exterior façade of the Crown Courts Building, Minshull Street, viewed from Minshull Street. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Below - Fig.9: Detail of the exterior façade of the Crown Courts Building, Minshull Street, viewed from Minshull Street. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Below - Fig.10: Main Victorian entrance to the Crown Courts Building, Minshull Street, viewed from Minshull Street. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Above the main gabled doorway (Fig.10) are more ornate windows where each pair of lancets under a main arch-head are crested by an oculus: this adds architectural complexity and further visually reinforces the visual importance of the main entrance. The clock tower, on the north-west of this façade, features corner turrets, known as bartizans, at the top level and are typical of military and baronial architecture that also entered into the vocabulary of civic buildings (Fig.1). The crenulations (also known as castellations or battlements), as well as arrow-slit windows on the tower also mimic military architecture—castles, although the crenulations are also found on church façades too. The clock tower, therefore, can be seen to indicate the militaristic—or defensive—nature of the building: in this case defending the rule of law and justice.

Above - Fig.11: Detail of Manchester’s coat of arms above the main Victorian entrance to the Crown Courts Building, Minshull Street. © Peter N. Lindfield.

There are two notable additions to the building’s ornament. Firstly, the tower has five empty shields on each ‘face’—ideally, they would contain heraldry, but in the Victorian period empty shields were incorporated into Gothic buildings out of a sense of continuing tradition by imitating the heraldic ornament used to decorate medieval structures. Above the main entrance on Minshull Street the shield is carved with the coat of arms of Manchester: a design granted in 1842 by the College of Arms in London (Fig.11).

Below - Fig.12: Detail of the grotesques flanking the entrances to the Crown Courts Building, Minshull Street. © Peter N. Lindfield.

The use of Manchester’s coat of arms over main entrance links the proceedings of the court with defending law and order in the city. Manchester’s shield is also found on both sides of the main entrance’s gable, and each is held by one of the armorial’s supporters (white hart on the left, and lion on the right). The second ornamental addition to the building is the grotesque animals flanking (Figs 12a–12d) the doorways on the Minshull Street façade. These sculptures were produced by Earp & Hobbs, a firm based in Chorlton-upon-Medlock, Manchester known for their specialism in Gothic ornament: Thomas Earp is famous for restoring the Elanor Cross in Charing Cross, London. The Earp & Hobbs animal grotesques are not gargoyles—they may look like they are, but gargoyles are part of a building’s guttering and are waterspouts to throw rain away from walls.

Above - Fig.13: Detail of the Victorian structure and the sympathetic twentieth-century addition to the Crown Courts Building, Minshull Street. © Peter N. Lindfield.

As already noted, James Stevenson’s additions to the north east of the Crown Court on Bloom Street are sympathetic to the original structure (Fig.13). The extension matches the polychrome appearance of Worthigton’s building, and the window arrangement is mimicked. Unlike the Worthington-designed windows, they are all rectangular and have no real affinity with the Victorian Gothic fenestration. Worthington’s gables above the building’s parapet are also reproduced on the extension, with glazing bars added in the glazing to Stevenson’s addition to mimic the originals (Fig.14).

Below - Fig.14: Detail of the Victorian structure and the sympathetic twentieth-century addition to the Crown Courts Building, Minshull Street, viewed from Auburn Street. © Peter N. Lindfield.

The twentieth-century addition to the Court building is, consequently, both sympathetic and, at the same time, modern. Interestingly, where Worthington’s building is obscured by the twentieth-century addition—the Aytoun Street façade—Gothic characteristics are notably absent. This façade, now the building’s main entrance, presents a modern face to the world and is entirely distanced from the historic, nineteenth-century Gothic building (Fig.15).

Above - Fig.15: Aytoun façade of the Crown Courts Building, Minshull Street. © Peter N. Lindfield.

A creative writing challenge has been launched alongside the UK Tour of A Monster Calls, based on the critically-acclaimed novel by Patrick Ness. The Monster Writing Challenge is a creative writing challenge seeking short stories inspired by the show and written by young people aged 10-25.

The challenge is open to individuals, school groups and community groups – anyone who has a story to tell. Each submission must be no more than 500 words and inspired by any of the themes that are present in A Monster Calls. These include family, grief, hidden emotions, truth, people are complicated, bereavement and friendship.

The deadline for submissions from those in the North West is Thursday 20 February ahead of the show’s run at The Lowry from Tue 25 – Sat 29 February.

Selected stories will be narrated by members of the cast in a series of videos posted up on the productions social media channels.

Those interested should visit A Monster Calls website and download the information pack for more in-depth details.

Patrick Ness’s piercing novel is brought vividly to life in the Olivier Award-winning production by visionary director Sally Cookson.

The cast includes Oldham born and raised Cora Kirk (Lily) and Paul Sockett (Mr Marl) who was born in Accrington and grew up in Great Harwood. Alongside Greg Bernstein (Harry), Kaye Brown (Grandma), Rafaella Covino, Ammar Duffus (Conor), Keith Gilmore (Monster), Jade Hackett (Sully), Kel Matsena (Anton), Maria Omakinwa (Mum), Sarah Quist (Miss Godfrey), Ewan Wardrop (Dad) and Sam Wood.

From the critically acclaimed bestseller, A Monster Calls offers a dazzling insight into love, life and healing. The book has sold over a million copies and garnered huge critical acclaim, including an unprecedented double win of the Carnegie and Greenaway Medals for outstanding children’s literature and illustration.

The UK tour of A Monster Calls will be providing an extensive outreach and engagement programme across the tour. This will include discussions, workshops, an education pack and participatory activities and events for local community groups and audiences addressing the widespread themes within the production. A Monster Calls will be working with Kooth, a free and anonymous online counselling and emotional wellbeing support service for children and young people available in many areas throughout the country.

The UK Tour of A Monster Calls is produced by Global Creatures, Jonathan Church Productions and Chichester Festival Theatre and supported by Arts Council England through a National Lottery Project Grant award and The Touring Partnership.

Access performances including BSL, Audio Described, Captioned performances and Touch Tours will also be available across the tour.

Find out more about the writing challenge: https://thelowry.com/2020/01/30/monster-writing-challenge/

Manchester’s fortunes may have been forged in the fires of the Industrial Revolution, with its history still evident in the historic buildings that dot the city - but it’s also a place that has never stopped looking towards the future. A day spent exploring the best parts of Manchester’s cultural offer perfectly reflects this: your itinerary might include a visit to Manchester Cathedral, which dates back to at least the 1400s, and to the newest brands and shops that have only recently opened their doors in Manchester City Centre. This guide to a day in Manchester showcases both the city’s historic treasures and the best of its modern offer, featuring a world-famous selection of pre-Raphaelite paintings, a meal in a former railway goods warehouse and tropical minigolf.

First, let’s start with breakfast. Evelyn’s Cafe and Bar in the Northern Quarter offers up a morning menu (10am-12pm Mon-Sun) that is the perfect combination of wholesome and indulgent. Yes, there are buttermilk pancakes and French toast, but there’s also cacao granola and their uber healthy Balance Bowl. Alternatively, the hugely popular, Antipodean-inspired Federal Cafe and Bar has locations both on the edge of the Northern Quarter, opposite Manchester Arndale, and on Deansgate, while American and Canadian-influenced breakfast and brunch spot Moose Coffee is still very central, but a little off the beaten track on York Street. 

Handily, Moose Coffee is very close to Manchester Art Gallery, one option for your first visit of the day. The collection here is immense - there are 25,000 artefacts and objects spanning six centuries, including a world-class selection of pre-Raphaelite paintings and 37 watercolours by Turner, all housed in a building designed by the architect also responsible for Highclere Castle (the setting for Downton Abbey). The gallery is also within sight of Central Library - drop in here to test the ‘whispering gallery’ effect in the stunning, circular Reading Room. Alternatively, if your taste is more of the sporting variety, choose the National Football Museum as your starting point: it houses the world’s biggest football memorabilia collection, with highlights such as the shirt worn by Maradona during the ‘Hand of God’ goal. It’s worth stepping inside the magnificent Manchester Cathedral opposite before heading to The Printworks for a round of tropical-themed minigolf at Treetop Golf. 

Lunch beckons. The Hard Rock Cafe at The Printworks is the UK’s second largest, decorated with mementos from The Beatles, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Oasis, and Elvis Presley and serving up the chain’s signature burgers and smokehouse specialities. Salvi’s Cucina on John Dalton Street is a rather more pared-back affair, but boasts a delicious Neapolitan menu and is among Manchester’s best restaurants and bars (read our guide to a day of eating and drinking in the city here). Salvi’s is also on the way to The John Rylands Library, which is your next destination.

Here you’ll find one of Manchester’s most astonishing buildings - an exemplary of neo-Gothic architecture that took ten years to build, with pioneering features including intricately sealed bookcases. The collection of rare books here spans five millennia, with catalogue highlights such as an original Gutenberg Bible. We go from historical treasures to cutting-edge fashion next, with a dip into Manchester’s best shops. Admittedly, you could spend an entire day shopping in the city centre alone, what with the fantastic range of designer shops such as Burberry, Barbour and Private White V.C, and the top jewellery shops that make up the bustling Jewellery Quarter. In this instance, though, we recommend exploring the retail offer in St Ann’s Square, including sportswear and yoga clothing specialist lululemon, outdoor clothing and equipment company Fjällräven and The Whisky Shop, where whisky and spirit specialists will guide you through the shop’s extensive stock. On the corner is elegant womenswear store & Other Stories - and at the other end of New Cathedral Street’s fashion thoroughfare are neighbouring department stores Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, for even more choice.

Evening is drawing in now - how to make the most of it? Happily, there are several options for food, drink and entertainment all in one place, under the roof of the Great Northern Warehouse. Here you can choose between bowling and karaoke at All Star Lanes (plus drinks and food from the Lanes Kitchen if you fancy it), a film at the Odeon or even a spot of axe throwing under the guidance of the specialist instructors at Whistle Punks. Cocktails come courtesy of Impossible bar with its outdoor terrace, and you can take your pick of cuisines at Spanish restaurant Evuna, Polish eatery Platzki Restaurant and Thai street food favourite Thai Smiles. And so ends a day exploring the very best of what Manchester has to offer.

The awards – involving wholesale and retail markets across the UK - are organised by NABMA (National Association of British Market Authorities), sponsored by Blachere Illuminations and took place with a ceremony at Birmingham’s Council House.

The judges commented: ‘This market is 5 years old. It has been featured in regional and local press and is a market run by the community itself. It has a huge impact on its area making environmental improvements to its trading site by improving verges, introducing planters, cycle racks and wall art. The directors engage with local organisations and schools about career plans and becoming independent traders. This is a market that has changed the dynamics of an area, and its environment, by creating a vibrant community hub. It represents a real team effort. All profits from the market go back to helping the market operate in a socially, environmentally and financially sustaining way. This is a social enterprise market.'

This marks an exciting start for the year for Levenshulme Market; a much-loved community run social enterprise, which Haunt Manchester has previously featured on a number of occasions. It is the only social enterprise of its kind in Manchester and one of only a handful of Social Enterprise Markets in the country – creating a community hub as well as a popular place to shop independently. Affectionately referred to as ‘Levy Market’, it has grown to be an exciting and much-loved feature of Levenshulme life – and  attracting wider recognition too; as was also a finalist in the 2019 BBC Food and Farming Awards.

Every weekend on Levenshulme Train Station car park between March and December, the thriving market brings together a variety of independent and local traders selling everything from homemade food and drink to crafted jewellery, houseplants and art! There is typically a live music feature too. Here at Haunt, we have been excited to cover Levenshulme Market, not only because of its celebration of individuality and use of an alternative space – but it also incorporates a wide range of artisan creativity. At the Haunt Manchester Networking Fair late last year, we were delighted to feature two of the Levenshulme Market regular traders: Hotchpotchpanda and Mary’s Jewellery Bakery.

It certainly has been a story of ongoing transformation for Levenshulme Market; launched as a Community Interest Company (CIC) back in 2013, growing from a monthly to a weekly format in 2014 and getting involved in an increasing number of local partnerships and community funding schemes from 2015 onwards.

The innovative format even involves an atmospheric ‘Night Market’ once a month, with the running time of 5-9pm. 2019 also saw Levenshulme Market take its traders on Tuesdays to a site at The University of Manchester (11.30am-2.30pm), which will continue during 2020.

Richard Hirst, manager at Levenshulme Market added:

 “We're incredibly proud to win this award. Markets are an important social space, not just for people to do their shopping and have a bite to eat, but for a community to come together and engage with one another. It's great to see such a strong showing for northern markets, with Chester Market, Grainger Market in Newcastle and Pease Pudding Night Market in Darlington all receiving awards. We could never have won without the efforts of our wonderful traders and the enthusiasm of our customers from Levenshulme and beyond.”

To discover more about Levenshulme Market, visit the website – and the next takes place on Saturday 7 March, 10-4pm.

]]> stuart.aiken@marketingmanchester.com (Visit Manchester) http://www.visitmanchester.com/ideas-and-inspiration/blog/read/2020/02/levenshulme-market-wins-a-great-british-market-award-b1077#comments1077 Mon, 03 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT http://www.visitmanchester.com/ideas-and-inspiration/blog/read/2020/01/discover-the-hidden-histories-and-powerful-stories-behind-the-2020-banner-exhibition-at-the-peoples-history-museum-in-manchester-b1075 Manchester is home to the national museum of democracy – the fascinating People's History Museum (PHM) – not only celebrating ‘ideas worth fighting for’, but holding the largest collection of political and trade union banners in the world. Manchester is home to the national museum of democracy – the fascinating People's History Museum (PHM) – not only celebrating ‘ideas worth fighting for’, but holding the largest collection of political and trade union banners in the world. These impressive banners – many of which have been part of historic marches and rallies in the past – make up a quarter of the annually-changing gallery display; with the choice of banners for 2020 focusing on the theme of migration.

Migration – the movement of people from one place to another – has informed the human history of the world, an ongoing process and point for discussion, across societies. Here in Manchester for example, patterns of migration have included everything from the arrival of Roman campaigns, to the travelling of people for work, trade and refuge.

Migration affects and shapes us all, often in ways that we might not initially realise. The banners on display in the museum reflect this; although their links to migration might not be obvious at first, delving into the history behind them reveals fascinating connections. Banners are after all a piece of personal as well as political history – made by people, carried in marches, uniting groups under a cause they believe in and communicating key messages. From strike action throughout the centuries and personal campaigns, to protest marches including those against The Vietnam War, anti-immigration laws and the Poll Tax, banners have provided a point of unity, discussion and symbolism.

 The exhibition includes a combination of those made by professional banner makers as well as homemade examples, all with stories behind them. These range from huge silk pieces adorned in artistry and beautiful sewing, to personally-sized banners – dating all the way from 1899 to examples made in 2019.

 Across the 25 new banners on display for 2020, areas of discussion include; the legacy and issues of colonialism, communities supporting each other, the process of movement and the impact of legislation. The banners are interspersed over floors one and two of the museum gallery space, meaning that visitors can take them in amidst the museum’s wider collection.

Known for their thought-provoking and profound displays, the People's History Museum is also including nine banners that have never been on display before as part the 2020 Banner Exhibition – all maintained by the museum’s specialist team of conservators. This means that the public can come and learn fascinating stories about migration and protest they may not have heard before.

So what are some of the banners on display? The oldest is the huge pure silk example from the Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers in 1899 (pictured above) – hand painted in oils and created in the London workshop of the notable banner maker George Tutill. The lavish materials of this banner link to a story of migration below the surface; as Tutill himself solidified his business in London so he could be close to the mainly migrant, highly-skilled silk weavers – many of Huguenot descent.

Some of the most recently-made banners on display meanwhile, include those from Revive Women’s Group (first image and pictured below) – a local initiative supporting women refugees and those seeking asylum. As part of Refugee Week 2019, a number of women from the group worked with artist Ibukun Baldwin to create two striking banners; bold in their use of colour and the powerful messages conveyed. One banner declares ‘Treat us with respect and dignity’ whilst the other states ‘No torture and injustice but human rights’, highlighting the often harrowing experiences encountered by women in the migration process.

Revealing hidden and under-discussed aspects of history is a key feature of these banners. Take the Transport & General Workers’ Union (TGWU) banner for example (pictured below) – which although itself dates from the early 1980s, the union was first founded in 1922. It was the TGWU that helped lead the campaign to stop the exploitation of illegal immigrants, following the tragic drowning of Chinese cockle pickers working for gangmasters at Morecambe Bay in 2004; an incident that was recently discussed by Carey Davies in a ‘Country Diary’ entry in The Guardian. The TGWU proved a significant influence in its campaign to regulate practices of gangmasters and address their exploitation of migration labour – with the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act passed in 2004 and Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority established by 2005.

A poignant handmade banner, created by campaigners themselves, is the ‘Mahoro Must Stay’ banner (pictured below), dating from 2007. The slogan references the case of Mahoro Mugabo, a woman who arrived in the UK in 2002 seeking asylum from Rwanda, following the murder of her husband by militia forces and then being imprisoned and raped by her captors. As she was HIV positive, Mohoro was unable to access life-saving drugs in Rwanda, so sought asylum in the UK – coming to settle in Didsbury. Yet it was twice whilst living in Didsbury that Mahoro was taken away from her home by the authorities to a deportation centre - highlighting the UK as one of the few European countries to have no legal limit on the duration of detention.

The 2020 Banner Exhibition therefore shows the issues and tensions that can arise around migration – but also considers opportunities for unity too. In 2010, Mahoro was told she had the right to remain in the UK and throughout the process, she was significantly supported by a range of local councillors, the MP John Leech, her church in Fallowfield and many friends. In total, it had taken 8 years for Mahoro to gain the reassurance of right to remain, and yet she had continued to show compassion and kindness; known for her work as a volunteer counsellor supporting fellow HIV sufferers.

Therefore, although the stories behind a number of these banners are difficult, they also highlight a diversity of people coming together to support each other – including the UK showing solidarity at times of international crises. Take the example of the Printers Aid Spain banner, dating from the late 1930s and showing support for the workers of Spain at the time of the Spanish Civil War. After the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica (April 1937) 4000 children were evacuated to Britain – an example of migration not often discussed and the information at the side of the banner highlights some of their experiences, as well as the difficulties faced. Powerful and informative, the People's History Museum banner exhibition does not shy away from exposing the difficult truths and unhelpful prejudices about migration, allowing audiences to learn from the past and progress forwards.

 Another banner – colourfully decorated and personally-sized, declaring Bread, Work and Freedom for the People of Chile (pictured below) – was part of the demonstrations that took place in London to demand human rights for the people of Chile following the Chilean coup of 1973. A inspiring story of action that took place in response, was in the form of the UK based World University Service (WUS) that assisted over 900 Chileans fleeing General Pinochet’s persecution, to come to the UK.

The 2020 Banner Exhibition is therefore filled with stories of migration both insightful as well as inspiring, with impact all over the world. To be able to take in such artefacts, right here in Manchester, is a profound experience – so why not pay a visit?

People’s History Museum is open seven days a week from 10.00am to 5.00pm, Radical Lates are on the second Thursday each month, open until 8.00pm.  The museum is free to visit, with a suggested donation of £5.  phm.org.uk.

Come along and browse two floors of galleries – with the banners interspersed throughout – as well as a unique viewing window into the specialist Conservation Studio; where each banner has been expertly cared for prior to hanging. See history in action, explore hidden heritage and be inspired.

Find out more about the 2020 Banner Exhibition on the People's History Museum website here. 

By Emily Oldfield 

Newly opened

EXHIBITION: Open Exhibition at HOME

Running until March 2020, HOME’s Manchester Open Exhibition (pictured above) – a major open-entry art show celebrating the creative talent of people from across Greater Manchester – is now open. HOME’s gallery has been filled with work from 500+ Greater Manchester residents, selected by a panel consisting of art experts and community representatives. The exhibition is open to all, and has brought together artwork including paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, digital and mixed media, video and audio, spoken word, performance and more.

- See also: art galleries - The Whitworth; Castlefield Gallery; Waterside; The Lowry

EXHIBITION: Dippy the Dinosaur

The Natural History Museum’s superstar dinosaur, Dippy, is currently on a record-breaking UK tour and he arrives in Rochdale this month. Dippy’s star power has already drawn more than 1 million visitors to venues across the tour, and thousands more are expected to visit him in Number One Riverside, his only stop in the North West of England. Accompanying the dinosaur in Rochdale will be a major family-friendly exhibition at Touchstones Rochdale where children can explore all aspects of the natural world, from the dark swamplands of millions of years ago to our future planet and what it might look like. Dippy will be in Rochdale from 10 February to 28 June 2020.

- See also: inspiring attractions - Science and Industry Museum; Jodrell Bank Observatory

EXHIBITION: The People’s City Exhibition

Award-winning restaurant The Refuge and the British Culture Archive presents The People’s City Exhibition to kickstart The Refuge’s 2020 cultural programme, open to the public until spring. Founded in 2017, the British Culture Archive is a registered non-profit set up to document, highlight and preserve the changes in British society and culture through social and documentary photography. The exhibition will include a selection of images from featured photographers that capture the very essence of what made Britain one of the world’s most culturally diverse countries from the 1960’s onwards. 

- See also: art exhibitions -  Cezzane at the Whitworth; The Art of the Brick

DRINK: Project Halcyon

Located in the Grade II listed Bonded Warehouse at the heart of city-centre neighbourhood development, St. John’s, Project Halcyon is a new bar and distillery from the team behind Zymurgorium Gin. This is the first bar to open in St. John’s neighbourhood and as well as housing an on-site distillery, the bar will offer a seasonal cocktail menu, craft spirits and liqueurs produced on site, and masterclass sessions distilling spirits as well as spirit tastings and cocktail masterclasses, all set to the backdrop of a turn of the century blues bar.

- See also: low-key cocktail bars - Wood and Co; The Jane Eyre; Speak in Code

FOOD HALL: Groceries & Beer

From the team behind Ancoats General Store and Stretford Food Hall, Groceries & Beer is a new food hall in the suburb of Sale. Groceries will be available alongside pop-up street food vendors, coffee and craft beer at Sale’s Square Shopping Centre, just 30 minutes from Manchester.

- See also: food halls - Mackie Mayor; GRUB; Hatch; Altrincham Market; The Produce Hall

FOOD HALL: The Mad Giant

A new food hall will also open in the suburb of Didsbury this month. The Mad Giant comes from the team behind Stockport’s Produce Hall. The Mad Giant offers a range of local, independent food offerings as well as coffee from Black Market Espresso and a bar serving local beers, wine and cocktails.

- See also: Disdsbury restaurants - Hispi; Greens; Another Heart to Feed

Coming soon

STAY: Hotel Brooklyn

Opening on 14 February on Portland Street, Bespoke Hotel’s Hotel Brooklyn will offer 189 innovative and stylish bedrooms, events space for up to 220 people, as well as a panoramic rooftop bar, known as Brooklyn Heights, and restaurant, named Runyon’s. A homage to the New York City borough of Brooklyn between 1870-1910, around the time when the Brooklyn bridge was built in 1883, Hotel Brooklyn promises to stand as a hive of theatricality and energy alongside its sister property Hotel Gotham, which opened on King Street in 2016.

- See also: newly opened hotels - Stock Exchange Hotel; Dakota; Native; Whitworth Locke

ATTRACTION: RHS Garden Bridgewater opening date announced

The RHS is creating a stunning new 154-acre garden in the heart of the North West by bringing back to life the lost historic grounds at Worsley New Hall in Salford. The creation of RHS Garden Bridgewater - the Society's first new garden in 17 years - is the largest gardening project in Europe and will include an Orchard Garden, Wellbeing Garden, Kitchen Garden, Paradise Garden, a Learning Garden and community teaching allotments, all set within the Weston Walled Garden, one of the biggest walled gardens in the country. RHS Garden Bridgewater will have a phased opening from 30 July 2020.

ATTTRACTION: Wigan Pier

Wigan Pier – made famous by George Orwell’s 1937 novel and essay, The Road to Wigan Pier – will be given a new lease of life when the long-vacant 18th Century industrial buildings are transformed into a vibrant new visitor attraction set to open this Spring. A new wedding venue, gin distillery, micro-brewery, food hall and town houses will occupy the previous Orwell public house, Heritage Centre and The Way We Were Museum which all sit on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

- See also: waterside neighbourhoods – Castlefield; Salford Quays; Worsley

EXHIBITION: Use Hearing Protection: The Early Years of Factory Records

Use Hearing Protection will tell the story of Factory Records’ formative years and how the record label’s innovative work in music, technology and design gave Manchester an authentic voice and distinctive identity at the heart of Britain’s music and creative industries in the late 70s and early 80s. Running from July 2020 until January 2021, this exhibition will include creations from Joy Division, New Order and The Durutti Column, graphic designs by Peter Saville and previously unseen items from the Factory archives. Tickets are on sale now for what is certain to be this summer's most popular exhibition..

Hundreds of languages will be shared and celebrated in events across the city as Manchester gets ready to celebrate International Mother Language Day between 20th and 22th February.

International Mother Language Day is celebrated globally each year on 21 February after UNESCO adopted the initiative proposed by Bangladesh. 

Manchester is Britain’s city of languages: there are up to 200 languages spoken in the city at any one time. It is estimated that half of the city’s adult population is multilingual, with four in 10 young people able to converse in more than one language. 

Activities include free, fun, family-friendly performances, discussions, workshops and a multilingual mushaira of poets performing their works, all showcasing the rich diversity of words and language across Manchester’s streets – and across the world.

With 40% of the world’s population having no access to education in a language they speak or understand, there has never been a more important time to protect and respect the rich diversity of words and communication.

Manchester has been taking part in International Mother Language Day since 2018; and in 2019 nearly 5,000 people took part. 

For International Mother Language Day 2020, you can:

• hear extracts of Elizabeth Gaskell’s work read in Tamil, Spanish and French
• join the Multilingual Manchester takeover of Manchester Museum and find out how to say ‘our kid’ in Kurdish (or Romani, Bengali, Turkish, Swahili and many more)
• pick up drum sticks to drum sticks with DrumRoots at an African drum workshop at Forum Library
• relax in the Round The World Story Tent at North City Library • explore The Language of Hair and beautiful African hairstyles at Longsight Library
• listen listen to oral histories in a huge range of languages and sample delicious food from around the world at Central Library
• be filmed reading your poetry in our specially created Poetry Pods at one of the four participating libraries (Longsight, Wythenshawe Forum, Mcr Central and North City) and 
• share a cup of tea with The Poetry Exchange podcast team and tell them about a poem that has been a friend to you*
• join the Jodrell Bank team and their inflatable planetarium at the Pakistani Community Centre in Longsight and then take part in science experiments and create poetry with ‘space-poet’ Dom Conlon.
• meet bi-lingual poets Nasima Begum, Basir Sultan Kazmi, Steph Lonsdale and Bohdan Pisecki in Manchester Libraries in the afternoon then join the four of them, poet Anjum Malik, creative artist Emma Martin and the young Creative Crew in the evening for the Multilingual Mushaira sharing what ‘home’ means*
• join in online by writing your own poem on the theme of ‘home’ and post it on Twitter using the hashtag #McrMushaira20

Find out more about International Mother Language Day

* very limited places that must be booked in advance

Dr Peter N. Lindfield FSA is a Senior Research Associate in the Departments of English and History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has published widely on Georgian Gothic architecture and design broadly conceived, as well as heraldry and the relevance of heraldic arts to post-medieval English intellectual, cultural, and aesthetic culture. Last year, as part of Gothic Manchester Festival 2019, he co-organised an event at Chetham’s Library Baronial Hall with Professor Dale Townshend titled ‘Faking Gothic Furniture’. This involved discussing the mysterious George Shaw (1810-76), a local Upper Mill lad who developed an early interest in medieval architecture and heraldry, going on to create forgeries of Tudor and Elizabethan furniture for a number of high-profile individuals and places at the time, including Chetham’s!

Currently Peter is completing his Leverhulme-funded research project exploring forged antiquarian materials in Georgian Britain, and also working on the recently re-discovered Henry VII and Elizabeth of York marriage bed, which itself was the inspiration behind many of Shaw’s so-called ‘Gothic forgeries’.

The history behind Thomas Worthington's Memorial Hall 

Above - Fig.1: The Memorial Hall Façade facing Albert Square. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Thomas Worthington (1826–1909) was born in Salford to a Unitarian cotton merchant, left school to be articled to the Manchester-based architect Henry Bowman (1814–83), and today is known for a number of high Victorian Gothic buildings in and around Manchester, as well as in Liverpool and Oxford. A number of subsequent blog posts will cover a selection of Worthington’s most important and interesting architectural projects in and around Manchester, assess the scope and nature of Victorian Gothic design, and demonstrate the legacy of his style.

The first building to be considered in this run of posts on Worthington is The Memorial Hall, Nos 1 and 3 Southmill Street, which borders the south-west corner of Albert Square at the heart of Manchester (Fig.1). The Hall’s importance was recognized by English Heritage in February 1972 when it was listed Grade II* (1254637)[1]—the grade awarded to particularly important buildings that are of very special interest. It was erected to commemorate the 2,000 nonconformist clergy who seceded from the Church of England in 1662 as a result of the Act of Uniformity.

Fig.2: View of the Quadrangle and Chapel, Keble College, Oxford. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Whilst a modest Gothic addition to the square, which is dominated by the Town Hall designed by Alfred Waterhouse between 1863 and 1877, Worthington’s Memorial Hall nevertheless demonstrates a number of stand-out features that define and differentiate his particular variety of Gothic.

Firstly, one of the major themes of Worthington’s architecture is the use of different materials on the exterior façades. In this instance red brick contrasts with yellow sandstone. These materials are used in a specific way to create alternating bands of colour—polychrome—including horizontal bands throughout each of the floors, and also in the arch heads of the windows. Demonstrating the potential of such polychrome schemes is Keble College, Oxford, designed by William Butterfield and erected from 1868, including its monumental Chapel (Fig.2). Like Butterfield’s geometric use of polychrome detail, Worthington’s Memorial Hall is ultimately based upon the recommendation of John Ruskin (1819–1900), one of the great Victorian writers on art and design. Ruskin had published his Seven Lamps of Architecture in 1849, and in it he celebrated the artistic freedom that Gothic architecture offered, and he recommended architects follow the style of Gothic that he discovered and explored in Venice—Venetian Gothic. Another of his recommendations was the use of polychromed façades. Writing in Seven Lamps he advised that:

'All arrangements of colour, for its own sake, in graceful forms, are barbarous;  and that, to paint a colour pattern with the lovely lines of a Greek leaf moulding, is an utterly savage procedure. I cannot find anything in natural colour like this: it is not in the bond. I find it in all natural form—never in natural colour. If, then, our architectural colour is to be beautiful as its form was, by being imitative, we are limited to these conditions—to simple masses of it, to zones, as in the rainbow and the zebra; cloudings and flamings, as in marble shells and plumage, or spots of various shapes and dimensions. […] The zone may become a delicate line, and arrange itself in chequers and zig-zags. […] The most exquisite harmonies may be composed of these simple elements: some soft and full, of flushed and melting spaces of colour; others piquant and sparking, or deep and rich, formed of close groups of the fiery fragments.'[2]

This accords with the use of colour on the façades of both Worthington’s Memorial Hall, and Butterfield’s Keble College.

Above - Fig.3 Doge’s Palace, view from the Grand Canal. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Also following Ruskin’s recommendation, Memorial Hall’s top floor adopts a particular form of Gothic tracery and window design that is quite distinct from English medieval examples. It is, instead, entirely consistent with Venetian Gothic as exhibited by some of the most famous Venetian buildings, including the Doge’s Palace (Fig.3), Ca’ d’Oro (Palazzo Santa Sofia), and Ca’ Foscari (Fig.4), all of which are on the Grand Canal.

Below - Fig.4: Interior view towards the Grand Canal of the Venetian Gothic Windows, Ca’ Foscari. Cafoscaritour (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Below - Fig5: detailed elevation of the Memorial Hall, showing the different types of window forms. © Peter N. Lindfield. 

Plate VIII from Seven Lamps (Fig.6) illustrated this peculiar type of repeating window form with cusped ogee arch lancets crowned by encircled quatrefoils. Worthington applied this Venetian Gothic form repeatedly along the top register of the Memorial Hall, consequently making it an example of High Ruskinian Gothic in central Manchester. Whilst following the form of Gothic approved of by Ruskin, the building is also undoubtedly influenced by what Worthington saw on his second Italian tour, from which returned to Britain in 1858.

The following posts explore other buildings by Worthington, demonstrate other leitmotifs of his style, and also how the definition of Gothic could stray in the Victorian period away from what we consider to be the defining feature of the medieval style—the pointed arch.

Below - Fig.6: Plate VIII from Ruskin’s Seven Lamps (1849). Image in Public Domain.

Images - credited in the captions 

---

[1] https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1254637.

[2] John Ruskin, The Seven Lamps of Architecture (London, 1849), p. 129.

Running from 1pm until the early hours, underground and overground, this is a unique opportunity to see some of the most pioneering creatives cracking open experiences beyond the human, the sinister side of folklore; involving everything from an audio-visual artworks and ambient soundscapes to avant-garde cello playing and even underground anti-pop.

The impressive all-dayer format of the festival highlights the variety on offer – and this eclecticism has been a key feature of Manchester Folk Horror Festival since the onset. The first edition was launched back in 2017, significantly organised by Nick Alexander of The Peer Hat – determined to bring a range of creative artists together in their explorations of other-worldliness, animism, the rural and urban weird, folklore, The Uncanny and nature. 2018 then saw the festival incorporate even more; including an academic panel discussion, artistic installations and music downstairs until the early hours. This year, creative content will take place both upstairs in the main bar and snug of the venue and also downstairs on-stage.  According to Nick:

“My feeling this year is that I'm hoping to pull away from the academic/anthropological and into the experienced. I want this to be a guiding tenet for future events; where 'folk horror' becomes code for a peculiar revolution within the imaginal. ‘Find the others’.”

For 2020, the festival approach has widened further into the realm of esoterica, encountering themes such as ‘Invisible Neighbours’ and ‘Hidden Devotions’, considering animism and the super-normal in our everyday lives. An example? From unusual ritual traditions to how certain figures achieve ‘cult-like’ status, folk horror and esoterica continue to unfold. Manchester Folk Horror Festival has in turn evolved to reflect this, with the third edition featuring a range of artists ‘who look to evoke to one degree or another, something of the incomprehensible consciousness’.

The line-up includes the art-music collaboration of Common Eider, King Eider (involving Rob Fisk, Vicky Fong, Andee Connors, Andrew Weathers and Blaine Todd); an enchantingly dark experience layered with drone, viola, choral arrangements and field recordings. Other artists include Taras Bulba; the duo of Fred Laird and Jon Blacow, opening up ambient soundscapes shaped by Eastern and Asian sounds, whilst Rotten Bliss is the creation of Jasmine Pender; an avant-garde artist playing cello through FX pedals, fused with an art rock edge and powerful vocals.

Incorporating electroacoustic music in an utterly unique way will be Dr Mark Pilkington - the mind behind ‘Thought Universe’ (EMS) - an independent  electronic music studio specialising in composing music that investigates art and science, and also his stage name. Mark will be unleashing his audio-visual piece Bug Data at the festival; aiming to give a voice to unseen creatures living in our waterways.

This is a fascinating scientific approach, considering the displacement of non-human species by making their experiences audible through creative sonification and data visualisation. Mark spoke to Haunt Manchester to tell us more:

“I’m really excited to be performing at this year’s Folk Horror Festival III at The Peer Hat. It will be a great opportunity to perform a new piece of electronic music called ‘Bug Data’ that extracts data of macroinvertebrates gathered from dammed rivers in the North West of England. This piece is part of an ongoing body of electroacoustic compositions that investigates and addresses ecological concerns affecting multiple species.

“During the festival, I will also perform a number of additional musical works that reflect an ecological theme. Sound is my preferred medium of choice, it encircles, transforms and questions visual dominance. The beauty of nature is shrouded in mystery; a strangeness has arisen between cultural and political differences that has misrepresented folklore through an articulation of myth. Our appreciation of nature has become a human-centric endeavour in all thoughts and matter. Our understanding of the world is based on visual dominance; we see the world in our own image. What if we could see and hear the world as a creature that inhabits our waterways? 

“‘Bug Data’ is a data-driven sound piece that adheres to an energy outside of the human condition, in this particular case the distribution of unseen species forms a musical composition to question the fragility of ourselves.

"The samples of species taken from the rivers was a chance occurrence, a scientific way to present an image of typologies, behaviours and habits of macroinvertebrates that inhabit our rivers. When this data is applied to the parameters of music composition an evolution of ecological frameworks takes place presenting us with an experience that is no longer fixed on past ideologies, but adhering to a dynamic system that interprets music as nature-as-process. My musical gestures and articulation of sound becomes part of this process: offering new insights into the way multispecies cohabitation can be experienced. The data samples of macro-vertebrates has been kindly supplied by Dr. Francois Edwards of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

“It will be a fantastic experience to engage with audiences outside of academic and institutional settings. The Manchester Folk Horror Festival offers a platform to promote diversity from a cross-section of multidisciplinary artists.”

 There is also plenty more audio-visual performance, with Waterflower being the project of Sabine Moore – taking audiences into a combination of 19^th Century Art Nouveau inspiration and multi-layered electronica with a touch-sensitive synthesiser. A Sci-fi journey coming to the stage? It certainly sounds like an experience.

Also performing will be Chelsea Hare - the creative expression of Tom Hollingworth – an incredibly diverse palette of music with a unique and profound voice. And in terms of unique voices, The Fates are another highly anticipated feature; led by Manchester punk icon Una Baines, charged with a DIY ethos and plenty of attitude. The Fates released their LP Furia back in 1985; a fascinating fusion of folk and drone, drawing together influential members of the original Manchester punk scene with the inspiration of the 16^th century Pendle Witches. Una told us why bringing The Fates to Manchester Folk Horror Festival III matters:

“There is more to this world that can be seen with our eyes. We sense it and use our creativity to express it. That is what this festival draws upon and allows us to experience something usually hidden. The Fates are moving between the light and dark and reveal some mysteries that are alien to patriarchal thought.”

Thought-provoking and experimental instrumentation as well as ideas seem a key feature of the festival, with Ecka Mordecai being another highly-acclaimed artist involved; not only an expressive cellist, but also known for the use of unusual instruments such as egg-flutes. 

This is a festival where genres are broken open, after all. Unnerving orchestral music created using cut-ups, layers and loops, plunging the audience into the fascinating piece that will be SPIRITUALIST CHURCH///Symphony, is composer Gary Wilkinson. He says:

“It was actually the Folk Horror Festival that inspired me to create my piece SPIRITUALIST CHURCH///Symphony which explores the terrors I would imagine as a child and the hauntings in the working class houses of the mining village where I grew up. Having been inspired by the event previously, I was totally thrilled to be included in this year’s festival.

“I create orchestral music using cut ups and loops of public domain classical pieces which I mash together to make new music. Yes, it’s a different way to create music but The Peer Hat is great for embracing acts that are different and the festival has brought a lot of different acts together which creates a great opportunity for us all to reach a wider audience.”

The Manchester Folk Horror Festival continues to be an event where the audience are not just passive consumers – they are involved, and often inspired. Celebrating this is the return of the highly popular Stranger Than Life Drawing - an artistic experience led by practitioner and artist Becca Smith, guiding those involved to venture into their own eerie and surprising creative work. According to Becca (Pictured left - Becca Smith at Cuckstoolpit Hit, Macclesfield, the site of a ducking stool and pond, used for an outdoor life drawing tour of sites where 'Cursted Queanes' (women) were punished in the town's history):

"Stranger-than-life drawing comes from my visual, conceptual and spiritual obsession with cinematic folk horror and The Gothic in the English landscape and liminal spaces. To participate in the session is to be part of a ritual, the act of creating a likeness, the veneration of an idol. The images produced seem other-worldly, childlike, the product of a seance."

Poetry and sound will also come together in a folk horror fusion, as writer Emily Oldfield takes to the stage - reading new pieces inspired by her own Edgelandia explorations of the mysterious Winter Hill - alongside Flange Circus; the enchanting hauntronica trio. Flange Circus also unleashed the superbly sinister soundscape for the Rural Eerie at the Gothic Manchester Festival last year (at The Peer Hat) and it is their alchemical blend of dark bass, intense electronica, field recordings and keys that will surely set the scene. The band told us more:

“We're delighted to be playing the Folk Horror Festival. As a band, we don't often fit in with many other events like this, but this feels different - this feels like somewhere we should be playing. We're excited to do an abridged version of Rural Eerie that we performed last October and to, once again, soundtrack the brilliant poetry of Emily Oldfield and the writings of a very special guest...someone to whom Folk Horror fans needs no introduction!" 

As well as performance poetry, another element of the festival is a series of talks and spoken word; featuring author and musician Phil Legard (also one half of the band Hawthonn), photographer Sarah Hannant and writer and Fortean Times contributor Christopher Josiffe.

(Pictured below: Emily Oldfield and Flange Circus performing 'Rural Eerie' at Gothic Manchester Festival 2019 - by Ian Drew) 

Plunge into the peculiar, crack open comfort zones and look beyond within this unique festival. Tickets are available online, starting at £8. 

By Emily Oldfield 

Image credits - Image 1: with thanks to Nick Alexander, Image 2 & 3: with thanks to Dr Mark Pilkington, Image 4: provided by Becca Smith, Image 5: with thanks to Ian Drew. 

]]> stuart.aiken@marketingmanchester.com (Visit Manchester) http://www.visitmanchester.com/ideas-and-inspiration/blog/read/2020/01/manchester-folk-horror-festival-iii-is-coming-on-1-february-music-art-film-and-more-b1072#comments1072 Tue, 28 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT http://www.visitmanchester.com/ideas-and-inspiration/blog/read/2020/01/primark-confirms-opening-date-of-new-intu-trafford-centre-store-b1071 Retailer will open new store in Barton Square, intu Trafford Centre. Retailer will open new store in Barton Square, intu Trafford Centre

Trafford, January 24^th, 2020  – Primark, the international retailer that offers high quality fashion at value for money prices, will open its new store at  intu Trafford Centre on March 20^th. Primark intu Trafford Centre will be the retailer’s 190^th store in the UK and will create over 300 new jobs.

The new store will showcase two floors of fashion over 64,800 square ft of retail space, where customers will be able to shop the latest trends in women’s, men’s and children’s fashion, footwear, accessories, lingerie and homeware, along with Primark’s certified cruelty-free Leaping Bunny PS…Beauty range. Primark’s latest range of sustainable denim, nightwear, and bedding, all made from 100% sustainable cotton, will also be available.

Based on the T.S. Eliot Prize-shortlisted poetry collection of the same name by Michael Symmons Roberts, Mancunia is a lyrical short poetry film composed of interwoven footage from 100 years of North West Film Archive material of the city. With the archive content drawn together by Marion Hewitt (Director of the North West Film Archive) and interpreted by artist and filmmaker Steve Hawley, this allows for a fascinating account of place: encountering everything from old myths such as the Salford Mermaid ‘Miss Molasses’ to locations linking to Symmons Robert’s own past, such as the Tootal textiles factory where his parents met. The voices of Julie Hesmondhalgh and Esh Alladi can also be heard reading the poems, adding to the resonant experience. 

Hawley’s careful artistry has allowed hundreds of hours of film from throughout the city to merge into a single mesmerising account – a 32-minute journey drawing the decades together; from Whit Walks down Deansgate of the Edwardian era, to a 1970s student riot on Oxford Street, and much more. Rather than a romanticised version, the city’s highs and lows are explored; the exuberance of the opening of the Ship Canal, the depression of the 60s clearances, and the resurgence of the present, all playing a part to reveal a detailed portrait of a city.  

The multi-layered approach of the film could be considered fitting in light of Symmons Roberts’ poems – as when Mancunia was first published (by Jonathan Cape) in 2017, the book attracted attention through its imaginative, intricate account of Manchester over time… a place where myths unfold, characters are created, different frequencies run, light and shadow. It considers the complication that comes with affirmation, challenges the tendency to fall into automatic praise – and instead could be seen to explore Manchester as a city of varied movement, various shades. The Manchester in people’s ideas and ideals may be very different to the changing city occupied as time goes on. In turn, the film is highly anticipated.

According to the artist behind it Steve Hawley:

 ”This is the first time a major city has been reflected in poetry and film, using only archive film of that city. It creates a sort of city-symphony, a multi-layered portrait which we hope will resonate with Manchester viewers, when they see a snatch of film or hear a phrase that expresses their feelings about their home city”. Recurrent themes include the much missed Piccadilly Gardens, which are seen though many decades and seasons, the symbolic heart of the metropolis.

“I am very interested in the way the mythic Manchester is portrayed in novels and film, especially in books such as The Emigrants by W.G. Sebald, and Passing Time (L’Emploi du Temps) by Michel Butor. Both were temporary immigrants to the city, from Germany in the 1960s and France in the 1950s respectively, and both worked at Manchester University. Both also saw the city as a depressed dystopian place, a malevolent entity almost, blighted by terrible food, awful weather and blackened buildings. In the 1959 Film Hell is a City, Manchester even appears as a chaotic Hades, long before the resurgence of the 1990s. Michael is interested in Moore’s Utopia, and has a strong bond with the city as his parents met at the Tootal factory here, and in our conversations there were a lot of correspondences in the way we see the rise of Manchester (the optimism of the building of the Ship Canal), its fall after the bombings of world war two, and it’s eventual rebirth in recent years. It is a mythological city in the way that Liverpool is, and Birmingham isn’t, in my view, and that mixture of myth (sometimes invented by Michael), and reality and poetry I hope comes through via the carefully chosen moving images drawn from the archive.”

So how did this come about? Symmons Roberts and Hawley are both Professors at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities, where they met and shared their enthusiasm for the mythology of Manchester.  Hawley was invited to make a film of Symmons Roberts’s poem Terra Nullius - about the victory parades that have snaked their way through the City centre over the years -  and following its success, they decided to collaborate on Mancunia. The North West Film Archive is also part of the University, and based in Manchester Central Library; therefore offering a fascinating visual resource to work with. Central Library itself also features throughout the film and joined in on the collaborative effort, which is part funded by The Granada Foundation.

For more information on the screening and tickets, visit the HOME website here.

Images: Stills from the Mancunia film provided with thanks to Steve Hawley

The trailer can be viewed below: 

What’s nicer than going for a lovely drink with your little fella in tow? Not a lot. That’s why we’ve come up with a list of some pubs where your furry best friend will receive a warm welcome. From cosy gastropubs to swanky bars, here’s our pick of a few of the best dog-friendly boozers in Manchester:

Refuge by Volta

Although only dogs under 35kg are allowed at Refuge bar the staff are more than happy to provide dog beds for them (furniture and cushions are off limits to furry patrons). It’s hard not to enjoy one of their on-tap ales or impressive cocktails with the little fella at your feet in the stunning space which is known for its decorative tiling and soaring ceilings.

Albert’s Schloss

Small dogs are welcome at Albert’s Schloss, a Bavarian-style restaurant-cum-beer hall until 7 pm. While dogs are given bowls of water and a warm welcome from staff, owners can look forward to walls adorned with skis, menus featuring Teutonic castles, and log fires in the middle of stone tables. They also have an excellent if eclectic menu but furry friends aren’t allowed in the restaurant area. 

Cottonopolis

Not only does Cottonopolis kill it in the food department, it’s also one of the best bars in the Northern Quarter. And one of the most dog-friendly to boot. Your little mate will enjoy being treated like a VIP and mingling with other well-behaved doggies here. Pro tip: if you fancy trying some of their incredible food along with your picture-perfect cocktail or craft beer, your little friend can enjoy a special treat like tuna sashimi or char siu pork too!

The Bay Horse Tavern

Good music, a dartboard, and a vast range of gins, craft beers and other libations await at The Bay Horse Tavern, a relatively quiet, quirky pub in the heart of the Northern Quarter. The lovely Victorian watering hole has a log fire, a secret garden and big comfy sofas for doggies to enjoy, but it also hosts free gigs, quiz nights and DJ sessions, and specialises in great pub grub. What more could you ask for?

The Wharf

With its oh-so-scenic canal-side setting, The Wharf is heaven for both humans and dogs. Not only will you feel like you’ve taken a trip outside the city, you can choose from six cask ales, a decent wine list, over a hundred malts, and delicious dishes from their seasonal menu. Furry companions, big and small, will be welcomed in the bar area and beer garden where food and drinks are served all day.

Roc & Rye

Well-mannered doggies including the happy little chap above are more than welcome at gorgeous cocktail bar, Roc & Rye. Within the Grade ii listed building you can sit back on their plush blue velvet or leather chairs and sip on exquisite cocktails created by award-winning mixologists. It’s pretty much the perfect setting to get chatting to other dog owners while your little buddy makes friends with their dogs.

Original post published on Rover.com here.

The UK’s brightest celebrations. As the dark streets light up, welcome in the Year of the Rat this weekend in Manchester. Featuring the famous red lanterns, a glittering golden dragon, live performances and the legendary Dragon Parade. This year there is a new parade route, starting at 12.30pm outside Central Library in St Peter’s Square.

Here are our top things to do this year’s Chinese New Year celebrations.

1. Chinatown Celebrations

24 – 26 January

Celebrate Chinese New Year in Chinatown with live performances, workshops, food, stalls and a funfair.

Don’t miss the brand-new illuminated Dragon, plus traditional lion dances, Chinese acrobatics, singing, poem reading and Kungfu.

On Sunday 26 January follow the 175ft dragon from St Peter’s Square to Chinatown and enjoy the spectacular fireworks finale at 6pm.

2. The Dragon Parade

26 January 

Follow the famous 175ft dragon as it weaves its way through the city’s streets along a new route for 2020’s celebrations. Starting from outside Manchester Central Library in St Peter’s Square, the city’s iconic dragon will be accompanied by traditional lion and ribbon dancers, alongside Chinese opera performers, giant Buddha Dolls and the Chinese Scout parade.

Look out for the dragon as it makes its way from St Peter’s Square down Peter Street to Oxford Street onto Portland Street before heading down Princess Street and into the heart of Chinatown for 2pm. And be sure not to miss the fireworks finale at 6pm on Sunday evening.

View a map of the parade route here. 

3. Giant Golden Dragon

25 – 26 January

Head to St Ann’s Square to catch a glimpse of the 50ft giant, glittering Golden Dragon that has taken up residence for the weekend. Share your pics using #chinesenewyearMCR.

4. Family Arts & Craft Workshops 

25 – 26 January

Over the weekend, there are plenty of family-friendly workshops to get involved in! On Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 January, Manchester Arndale will host Manchester Confucius Institute and Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA) for family arts and crafts. Manchester Art Gallery and Central Library will also be offering up arts, crafts and performances, whilst CFCCA will host a drawing competition with fabulous prizes including an original drawing by Joey Yu. 

5. Chinese New Year Weekend Shopping

Celebrate Chinese New Year at Harvey Nichols with live DJ sets, special offers and complimentary personalisation, plus Tarot Card consultations with The Wellness Foundry.

Head to Selfridges, Exchange Square for a host of beauty masterclasses and demonstrations from Charlotte Tilbury, Beauty Concierge, NARS, Pat McGrath and TOM FORD, plus a Traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony, complimentary quick sneaker cleans and personalised gifts.

For more Chinese New Year events head to visitmanchester.com/CNY & follow the fun at @ChineseNYMCR.

Above - Fig.1: Ordsall Hall, Salford, South East Façade. © Peter N. Lindfield. (also featured image)

Dr Peter N. Lindfield FSA is a Senior Research Associate in the Departments of English and History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has published widely on Georgian Gothic architecture and design broadly conceived, as well as heraldry and the relevance of heraldic arts to post-medieval English intellectual, cultural, and aesthetic culture. Last year, as part of Gothic Manchester Festival 2019, he co-organised an event at Chetham’s Library Baronial Hall with Professor Dale Townshend titled ‘Faking Gothic Furniture’. This involved discussing the mysterious George Shaw (1810-76), a local Upper Mill lad who developed an early interest in medieval architecture and heraldry, going on to create forgeries of Tudor and Elizabethan furniture for a number of high-profile individuals and places at the time, including Chetham’s!

Currently Peter is completing his Leverhulme-funded research project exploring forged antiquarian materials in Georgian Britain, and also working on the recently re-discovered Henry VII and Elizabeth of York marriage bed, which itself was the inspiration behind many of Shaw’s so-called ‘Gothic forgeries’.

Ordsall Hall, 322 Ordsall Ln, Salford M5 3AN

Context

Ordsall Hall (Fig.1), like a number of houses dating to the medieval and Tudor periods, including Speke Hall on the outskirts of Liverpool (Fig.2),[1] is stuck on a limb and surrounded by less illustrious products of modern urbanisation and industry. Despite this encroachment, Ordsall Hall is an incredible survival from the medieval and Tudor periods, and it has an interesting and multi-layered history of Gothic and architectural development. Its significance is such that English Heritage listed it Grade I—the highest category demonstrating the building’s historic importance—on 31 January 1952 (1386169).[2] This incredible building that today is free to visit by the public, has been explored a few times by Haunt (here), but this article offers something new by considering the building’s relationship with medieval and Gothic Revival design.

Below - Fig.2: Speke Hall, Liverpool, Entrance Façade. © Peter N. Lindfield.

History

The house has a long history dating back to around 1251 when William de Ferrers (c.1200–54), Fifth Earl of Derby, exchanged a house on the site for land in Pendleton, Salford. This structure is not the house that we see today; the property was left in 1335 to Sir John Radclyffe (d.1362), and he began a programme of expansion and redevelopment. By 1380 it had a hall, five rooms, a chapel, and a kitchen. The hall continued in the Radclyffe family for centuries, however even Sir John’s Ordsall Hall is not the building that we see today; large parts of it were yet again redeveloped around 1510 by Sir Alexander Radclyffe (d.1549), High Sheriff of Lancashire, with the notable addition being the Great Hall that was, and today remains, at the centre of the country house. Dating to the Tudor period, this building is from the last distinct phase of England’s medieval architectural style now described as Gothic.

Above - Fig.3: Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire. Christine-Ann Martin (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Gothic design

Whilst removed from the cut and thrust of stone-built ecclesiastical buildings—churches and the great cathedrals of England with a large amount of pointed-arch windows filled with stained glass and structural armatures (tracery)—and instead made from wattle and daub (that the Victorians painted black and white as seen, today, at Speke, and Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire (Fig.3), Ordsall Hall is nevertheless a robust example of Gothic. This can be seen particularly on the Great Hall’s interior (Figs 4–5) and the surviving Tudor exterior façades of the house (Fig.6): large, very simple four-lobed shapes, known as quatrefoils, cover the elevations and even the roof of the Great Hall. 

Above - Fig.4: Interior of the Great Hall at Ordsall Hall, Salford. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Above - Fig.5: Interior of the Great Hall at Ordsall Hall, Salford. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Above-  Fig.6: Exterior Façade of the Great Hall at Ordsall Hall, Salford. © Peter N. Lindfield.

This exaggerated application of a motif from Gothic architecture was applied liberally throughout the structure, offering a simple, yet clearly medieval aesthetic that would not have in all likelihood been found in pre-Tudor architecture; church exteriors and interiors, instead, would have adopted the Gothic window ‘panel’ as a decorative form, as seen applied to the Choir of Gloucester Cathedral. In this instance, the Gothic panelling creates the impression that the walls and windows are almost identical (Fig.7).

Below - Fig.7: Interior Elevation of the Choir, Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucestershire. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Ordsall’s unusual application of quatrefoils across its exterior and interior structure may have something to do with the relative remoteness of its construction from earlier medieval buildings that today come to define the Gothic style, or that the construction technique encouraged the reproduction of such decorative forms on a large scale. A more mature and sophisticated application of such a scheme can be seen on the interior of the Great Hall at Rufford Old Hall, Lancashire, made later in the sixteenth century (Fig.8), and which features far more ornate Gothic architectural elaboration than found at Ordsall Hall, particularly in the decoration of the lintels, and the octagonal piers supporting the Tudor-arch screen.

Below - Fig.8: Interior of the Great Hall at Rufford Old Hall, Lancashire. Francis Franklin (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Layers of Gothic: Victorian improvements

Having passed into the possession of the Egerton family of Tatton in 1758 and then divided up and rented out to multiple tenants before becoming a Working Men’s Club in the nineteenth century, Ordsall Hall had a remarkably turbulent time in the Georgian and Victorian periods. In 1896 Earl Egerton had Ordsall Hall converted into a training school for Church of England clergy; for this, and to repair all the damage to the house, the very local architect Alfred Darbyshire (1839–1908)—born in Salford—was hired.

Below - Fig.9: South-East Façade of Ordsall Hall, by Alfred Darbyshire, from 1896. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Below - Fig.10: Perpendicular Gothic church windows (Manchester Cathedral). © Peter N. Lindfield.

Of his interventions, perhaps the most interesting is the insertion of a pair of Perpendicular-style windows on the south-east side of the Great Hall (Fig.9) taken almost directly from medieval church windows (Fig.10), seen, for example, at Manchester Cathedral. This example of revived Gothic architecture adds a new laver of medieval design to a hall that was nearly 400 years old at time, and, indeed, is far closer to what we commonly recognise Gothic to be. The late Victorian interventions were recorded in a memorial banner above the central doorway on the north-east end of the hall in a suitably Gothic script, which adds to the Gothic veneer of the house’s refurbishment (Fig.11). A notable addition to the exterior from Darbyshire’s work is the Eggerton family coat of arms; this complements the Radclyffe arms found elsewhere in the house—discussed in the next section—and adds to the record of the Hall’s owners throughout history (Fig.12).

Below - Fig.11: Inscription concerning the Darbyshire restoration of Ordsall Hall, over the centre doorway of the Great Hall. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Below - Fig.12: The Egerton of Tatton coat of arms inserted between the Darbyshire windows on the south-east façade of Ordsall Hall, from 1896. © Peter N. Lindfield.

A remarkable survival

Above - Fig.13: Throne for the Great Hall, featuring the arms of John Radcliffe (1582–1627), taken from a moulding in ‘The Coat of Arms Room’ at Ordsall Hall. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Left- Fig.14: Arms of John Radcliffe (1582–1627), taken from a moulding in ‘The Coat of Arms Room’ at Ordsall Hall. © Peter N. Lindfield.

It isn’t surprising to hear that Ordsall Hall’s interior, like so many ancient country houses, lost its historic furniture over the centuries. There has been an attempt to replace some tables and chairs in the Great Hall with both Elizabethan and modern examples (the c.1600–50 table on the dais, or raised platform, being on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London).[3]

Whilst lacking any overtly Gothic architectural forms, this furniture is suited to the building and the room given their roughly similar age. One striking new-made piece for the Great Hall is the armed chair—'throne’ (Fig.13). This attempts to counteract the lack of furniture specifically associated with the house and its owners by featuring the quartered arms of John Radcliffe (1582–1627) that are found in ‘The Coat of Arms Room’ on the second floor of Ordsall Hall in moulded plaster above the room’s chimneypiece (Fig.14).

Like the Egerton arms on the exterior of the property, this chair and the arms add a sense of history, family, and ownership to the historic property.

Below  - Fig.15: The Radclyffe Bed. © Bonham’s.

Below - Fig.16: Detail of the tester showing the Royal arms, from the Radclyffe Bed. © Bonham’s.

More significant is the return of the ‘Radclyffe Bed’ on loan to the house. The bed, sold by Bonhams in Oxford on 30 April 2014 for £62,500,[4] includes the Royal coat of arms on the underside of the canopy (tester), and the arms for the Radclyffes of Orsdall Hall, c.1580 (Figs 15–17) are also woven in lavishly into the bed. Unlike the early sixteenth-century Gothic design of the Great Hall, the bed is designed in an Elizabethan style that makes use of the forms and motifs derived from Classical architecture—especially the round arch and columns. More significant is the fact that the bed had, during the nineteenth century, been in the possession of George Shaw (1810–76) of Uppermill, Saddleworth—an antiquary, collector of ancient woodwork, architect, designer of church furniture, and forger of supposedly ancient ancestral relics. The clearance sale from his house, St Chad’s, on 27–30 July 1920 lists and depicts this bed (Fig.18) in the ‘Bedroom over Dining Room’, and its description (lot 509) is as follows:

An exceptionally fine OLD OAK "ELIZABETHAN" BEDSTEAD, richly carved and inlaid, with canopy supported on massive columns emblazoned with the 'Radcliffe' coat of arms. A very rare specimen.[5]

Above - Fig.17: Detail of the headboard showing the Radclyffe arms, from the Radclyffe Bed. © Peter N. Lindfield.

This bed has clearly been interfered with, particularly in the design of the foot pedestals and their inlayed marquetry. It is significant, nonetheless, as a surviving relic, almost certainly from Ordsall Hall, and it reveals the characteristics of sixteenth-century furniture that was suitable to, and decorated such country houses. The prominent use of Classical architectural forms, in particular the Ionic column supported by term figures, owes nothing to the Gothic characteristics of the remainder of Ordsall’s Tudor construction. Nevertheless, it works in tandem with the house’s architecture to signal the age, importance, status, and wealth of the Radclyffe family. With the Royal and Radclyffe arms, this bed was a marker of estate.

Below - Fig18: The Radclyffe Bed, for sale as Lot 509 in the 1920 sale of property at St Chad’s Uppermill. © Peter N. Lindfield.

Breakfast & Brunch

Our first pick for breakfast and brunch has proved so popular that it expanded to a second site in Manchester in 2019: Federal Cafe Bar first opened opposite Manchester Arndale, but can now be found on Deansgate too. This is down to Federal’s delicious, Antipodean-inspired menu, which includes plates laden with avocado, eggs and halloumi. Everything is freshly made, the coffee is excellent and there’s a list of brunch cocktails should you be that way inclined. A nearby alternative is The Remedy Kitchen, a breakfast and brunch spot with a singularly healthy ethos. Situated in the Royal Exchange Arcade, the menu here includes the usual breakfast and brunch suspects - except that everything is gluten, wheat, dairy and refined sugar free. Finally there’s Moose Coffee, which dishes out American and Canadian-influenced breakfast and brunch options such as potato hash, pancake stacks and waffles. There’s often a queue, but with a quick turnover and seating outside for sunnier days, it’s worth the wait. 

Lunch

Salvi’s Cucina on John Dalton Street, with its smoky open kitchen, friendly waitstaff and extensive menu, is a perfect spot for lunch. The dishes delivered by the Italian kitchen are firmly rooted in Naples, with a map of the city printed on the paper table mats - Neapolitan specialities can be found in amongst the starters, pizzas, pastas and mains that Salvi’s serves. Go for an authentic - and extremely tasty - experience. Not far from Salvi’s is Hawksmoor Manchester on Deansgate, an elegant British steakhouse and cocktail bar that uses the very freshest ingredients and cuts of meat in its menus. The food is exceptional, and the decor a beautiful reflection of the former Victorian courthouse in which the restaurant is situated. Similarly classic is Albert Square Chop House, also housed in a historic building; Thomas Worthington’s iconic Memorial Hall, built in 1866. Here the emphasis is on great British food, with a seasonally changing menu, Sunday lunches and options for children. 

Afternoon tea

Tucked away just off St Ann’s Square, Annies is a cosy spot for a traditional, Prosecco or champagne afternoon tea, complete with the usual complement of sandwiches, scones and cakes. The luxurious King Street Townhouse hotel also offers afternoon tea - both traditional, and a gentleman’s afternoon tea that includes cheese, crackers and chutney as part of the sweet treats selection. The savoury selection here is perhaps more diverse than elsewhere, with wraps and bagels included as alternatives to sandwiches - and the cakes still look exquisite. The range of options at The Midland Hotel is even more extensive, with vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and children’s afternoon teas on offer alongside the traditional and Royal (including a glass of champagne) spreads. Afternoon tea is a proper custom here, with the elegant Tea Room overlooking St Peter’s Square. 

Early evening drinks

Salut Wines is a bar that stands out; winner of two Decanter awards, its Enomatic wine machines allow a range of bottles that wouldn’t usually be feasible to keep open to stay fresh, and be sampled by customers in three different volumes - from a taster to a full glass. There’s a simple pre-paid card system, tasting notes and helpful staff on hand, as well as over 400 carefully selected wines to take away. Hangingditch wine merchants next to Manchester Cathedral is another excellent choice, with unusual and special wines by the glass and bottle, to drink in or take away. Hangingditch also has a sun trap terrace out front, and serves small plates and nibbles to hungry punters. If wine isn’t so much your thing, however, BrewDog next to the Albert Hall has a top selection of beers, as well as a tasty food menu, wide windows, games and outdoor seating.

Dinner

If you’re after a classic British menu in a traditional setting, you can’t do much better than Sam’s Chop House and Mr Thomas’s Chop House. Both serve the best of British cuisine in historic buildings that were, respectively, once frequented by L.S. Lowry (Sam’s Chop House - there’s a bronze statue of him at the end of the bar), and now over 100 years old (Mr Thomas’s Chop House is Grade II listed, making it one of the oldest bars in the city). Alternatively, Manchester is the perfect place to enjoy cuisines from around the world. Relative newcomer Dishoom, which opened in 2018, transports delicious dishes from the Irani cafes of former Bombay (Mumbai, India) into what was once a Freemasons Hall on Bridge Street, replete with gorgeous stained glass windows and atmospheric decoration inside. Fazenda channels the rodizio dining experience of Brazil, pairing gourmet sides with beautifully barbequed meats. Finally, Tast presents Catalonian home cooking elevated by multi Michelin-starred chef Paco Pérez, including ‘Tastets’ that translate tapas to modern fine dining standards. 

Cocktails

Opening out onto St Peter’s Square, The Anthologist’s cocktail list includes ‘Adventurous Spirits’, classics and sharers for between two to four people, making it the perfect spot to enjoy anything from a single, complex drink to an ‘Enchanted Tea’ that will see you through the night. If you’re looking for entertainment alongside your cocktails, head further down Peter Street to Alberts Schloss, a Bavarian bier palace and cook haus that has ‘push for Prosecco’ buttons, allows dancing on its benches and has entertainment seven nights a week. Alternatively, if a bit of healthy competition is more your thing then All Star Lanes at the Great Northern Warehouse offers both bowling and karaoke alongside a bar serving cocktails and a dedicated whiskey room.

A researcher, maker and educator as well as Senior Lecturer at Manchester School of Art, CJ works with a wide range of people within her practice, exploring personal connections to objects, storytelling and interaction along the way. Her 2018 PhD thesis was titled My, Your, Our Stories: a processual investigation of artistic interventions with everyday ceramics; further investigating how ceramic objects can connect people and shape their stories. Think about it – do you have a particular favourite bowl or cup? Are there certain plates your family use for ‘special occasions’? These are connections just waiting to be explored. (Pictured above: a piece from the 'Heaven' series)

CJ’s creativity with objects, ceramics in particular, has taken her far and wide; looking at personal connections across the world. The Pol Project, for example, was based in in Dhal ni Pol, Ahmedabad, India (a picture from the trip is below) in October 2010 and involved CJ working with anthropologist Amanda Ravetz, artist Steven Dixon and two Indian researchers alongside the local community to encounter environmental issues through creativity. Workshops were developed, including activities for children such as decorating ceramic saucers and teacups: hand-on engagement with objects and the leaning process. Having also exhibited in a range of places – from Kilkenny Arts Festival  and the National Craft Gallery of Ireland to Grimmerhus in Denmark – CJ is passionate about the ability of art to bring a range of people together; often to reflect on themes that unite us all.

Grief and death is one such theme – another key element explored in CJ’s work. Dad's Doorways is a collection of pieces made in response to the death of her Dad in 2018: consisting of beautifully crafted and decorated saucers containing the recurring image of a doorway – a powerful symbol weighted with the potential for transformation, change and progress. So often we only associate saucers with teacups, but through Dad’s Doorways CJ considers the inherent beauty of the object itself, as well as the concept of something being ‘absent’ at its centre.

Exploring grief after all matters deeply to CJ, inspired by her own experiences of making and creativity in response to grief. This is a relationship she hopes to encourage others to engage with – artistry as a way of considering and coming to face grief and bereavement in a positive way. The recent exciting news that pieces from CJ’s Dad’s Doorways collection feature in the Manchester Open Exhibition 2020 at HOME (launched on the 17 January and open until 29 March), is also likely to start conversations amongst the public about the themes on display.

The Materiality of Grief is the title of a project CJ is planning next – and taking the artistic explorations a fascinating step further – hoping to use both 3d printing in clay and transfer decoration to explore our connections to those who have died and our relationship with grief. She is also hoping to talk to more people about this concept.

Here at Haunt Manchester, we spoke to CJ to find out more…

Hello CJ.  Your fascinating artwork often involves exploring objects and peoples connections to them. Can you perhaps tell us a bit more why you have been drawn to consider this (oft unspoken and yet deeply felt) relationship?

"In my research over the last 10 or so years I have realised that by activating the agency of everyday ceramic objects through engagement, we can make visible our narrative connections with others, acknowledging the importance of others in our lives. (Image above: a piece from CJ O'Neill's 'Heaven' series)

"Growing up we had a box of 'fast cups' that were brought out once a month and moved between the houses of my parents group of friends.  Once a month, they held home made soup that marked the end of a 24 hour period of fasting when the friends came together to pray, talk and eat.  The money that would have been spent on food in those 24 hours was donated to a charitable cause and often the person fundraising would come along and talk to the group about how the money had been spent and who it had benefitted.  ​The cups themselves advertised a pharmaceutical company and came to my parents through a friends daughter who had kept a box in the garage.  But it was not the aesthetics of the cups that stuck with me, it was the people that they reminded me of that made them much more valuable than a free giveaway - on seeing them I could smell the soup and home made wheaten bread, I could hear chatting and the kettle boiling for pots of tea.  Thoughts of family, friends and community are embodied in these objects." 

Congratulations on some of your work being displayed as part of the Manchester Open Exhibition 2020 at HOME! Which pieces are involved and do you think an ongoing public audience at an exhibition like this will give rise to some interesting conversations around themes in your work?

"Thank you!  I am so delighted to have work on display in Manchester in such a fantastic venue and as part of such a significant exhibition.  The pieces on display are Dad's Doorways - a collection made in response to the death of my Dad in 2018.  I'm hoping that visitors will be able to connect with some of the figures in the pieces - noticing small details or perhaps see themselves in one of the silhouettes.  In previous exhibitions, when I've used the symbol of the doorway it has revealed stories about journeys - real or imagined - and in combination with figures, can often provoke deeply personal narratives about loss or absence.  Being part of such a broad exhibition like the Manchester Open will hopefully bring people coming to see photography, or painting as opposed to objects and in this way attract a wider range of responses.  One of the things I really hope for is that visitors return home and re look at some of the objects they have at home, thinking about the people who are connected to the things they already own - enabling the sharing of stories and memories with others."  (Pictured below: pieces from the 'Dad's Doorways' series)

"One lovely thing is that the private view of the exhibition (Friday 17th January) is the date of my Dad's 2 year anniversary!"

Another key theme explored in your work is grief and how the creative process and making can have a constructive effect. Dad’s Doorways is one such example – involving saucers as a central object. We most commonly associate saucers with teacups… so why focus on this object in its own right within the pieces?

​"Saucers have an inherent absence.  They can become obsolete objects if the cup associated with them gets broken - often hiding underneath a plant or stacked in the back of a cupboard.  Or, given to a charity shop where they sit in stacks, waiting for a new owner.  I love finding stacks of these objects, and have collected many from across Europe - I'm planning a series of pieces and workshops to make use of these!  

"This absence in the saucers is something that appears to connect to our subconscious, and enabled me to acknowledge the absence of my Dad and provided a way of momentarily pausing the movement of memories of him. (Pictured below: a piece from the 'Dad's Doorways' series)

"The making ​of these objects, carefully hand cutting each transfer, sometimes 4 or 5 times to get it right, allowed me to experience my grief.  To be in it.  A making*thinking process.  One inextricable from the other.  A constant movement. A few times I had to stop making as I was crying, but please don't misinterpret this as a negative experience, it was simply part of my grief and through the making of these objects, I have enabled numerous conversations with others about death, loss, grief and bereavement that would not have happened otherwise.  These objects have connected me to others and continue provide a constructive way forward with grief."

Doorways are a recurring symbol within your work. Can you tell us a little more why you are drawn to these, particularly in relation to grief and death?

"I return over and over to the image of the doorway within my work - ‘Life is made up of a series of doorways that we choose to step through.  Death is just another doorway to step though - we just don't know what's on the other side.  Yet.'  My Dad was smiling as he said this and it resonates in my head quite often.  I first acknowledged the power of the doorway as a symbol within a residency in India where I collaborated with visual anthropologist Amanda Ravetz on The Pol Project.  ​We walked around the pol over the first few days, being invited into numerous homes for tea.  Crossing the threshold of the doorway felt incredibly humbling and highlighted for me the transitional properties of the doorway, from public to private; external to internal.  We also ran a series of workshops in the pol, getting to know the community and this culminated in setting up a doorway in a central space in the pol and inviting the community to act out daily rituals around the doorway.  Amanda took video footage and I took stills - partly to encourage the timing of people coming through the doorway.  These stills informed a series of pieces that captured moments of the day around the doorway.  

"On returning to the UK, my aunt passed away, and I suddenly saw the images in a different light - were these people standing around some form of threshold between this life and beyond?  Between heaven and earth?  I made 3 larger plates exploring this notion of heaven, utilising gold for its precious and magical properties to fill the doorways.  (Pictured below: cup and saucer from The Pol Project)

"Doorways are fascinating objects though - aren't they?  How many times have you imagined what lies behind a closed door?  C.S.Lewis is not the only writer to harness the potent nature of the image of the doorway.  The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, has a specific reference to a doorway that seems to just be in the landscape, but lead somewhere else. ‘Only a few yards away, clear to be seen in the sunlight, there stood up a rough wooden door, and round it, the framework of the doorway; nothing else, no walls, no roof.’ (Lewis, 1950)

"Symbolically, they represent choice and notions of pathways, they offer routes of escape and are used in storytelling often to demarcate moments of transition and transformation, of movement between worlds. Alice's dilemma with which door to choose creates all manner of trouble for her. ​ Within my practice, the doorway has become a potent activating agent for the narrative process. 

"The doorway decorating a small plate that sits on my shelf (pictured below) is hand cut in black transfer detailing the flowers that were placed carefully around the frame in The Pol Project. Filled with gold - the symbol of chi, the essence of our energy, and in its very essence a transformative material – what is revealed in this piece is the magical potential of the doorway to transport us into the other worlds of our imaginations."

Some people still feel that considering death and ‘allowing it in’ to our lives, so to speak, is a negative experience, something they would rather avoid. How would you respond to this attitude in light of your practice?

"I acknowledge and respect wholeheartedly that each experience of death is different and would never assume that it is an easy or light conversation to have and that for some, their experience of death is so crippling that it is best for them to not 'allow it in'.  I did not actually set out to evoke notions of death or grief in my practice, it is something that has emerged as a recurrent theme over a long period of time for both myself and others interacting with the work, and because of this, because of the response from others, I am hoping to continue to explore this within my practice, to see if making and the materiality of grief, can allow a place for others to express their own experience of grief and loss in materials and making as an alternative to words."

A number of your other projects – including Clay Networks – have potential implications for our exploration of death, our relationship to those who have died and grief. Can you tell us a little more about this, as well as your future creative plans?

"I believe we are the result of our experiences, that we build our knowledge and being due to the people and experiences we encounter, how we acknowledge these others in the work that we can be fascinating.  Clay Networks set out to acknowledge the contribution of others to the formation of our selves through 3d printing in clay.  The residency and engagement sessions at the British Ceramics Biennial in 2019 revealed a number of possible avenues for development.  Visitors were photographed, and their silhouette was translated to a digital line.  This outline was paired with the outline of another visitor or member of staff, and a digital objects was created that connected the 2 outlines.  These objects were then printed in clay, creating a physical manifestation of the connection between these 2 individuals.  (Pictured below: pieces from Clay Networks - image thanks to Jenny Harper)

"On the opening night of BCB, Katia, a visitor, asked if she could be included in the objects.  I paired her with a member of staff who was working in the flatbacks production area.  I created a digital outline of Katia from her photograph and paired it with Sarah’s in Rhino, before exporting it to print on the delta printer.  As the first face, Sarah, began to appear in the first few layers, Katia’s colleague exclaimed “I know who that is – it’s Sarah, she works in a studio in Manchester.  You should meet Sarah actually – I’ll introduce you to her.”  This simple statement re-affirmed the purpose of the research – to facilitate a more meaningful connection through the use of technology in combination with clay and making. 

"I would like to explore connecting people to others that have died in printed objects, by way of acknowledging the ongoing connections and influence others have on us as individuals beyond death.  

"Moving forwards, I will utilise both transfer decoration and 3d printing in clay to further explore The Materiality of Grief ​- engaging with others through making in response to our experience of grief.  I hope that this develops into a project that can have a positive impact on the people that experience it."

To find out more about CJ O'Neill and her work, visit her website here. She also is interested in hearing from and connecting with those working around grief, death and creativity - with contact information available via her site. 

By Emily Oldfield 

Images provided with thanks to CJ O'Neill

Austen & Blake

Jewellery shop Austen & Blake opened in Manchester in 2018, bringing a uniquely tailored buying experience to King Street. This company isn’t about ready-made jewellery - instead, its customisation services allow customers to design their own diamond, engagement and wedding rings, as well as earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Setting, cut, carat, metal and colour are all down to personal choice; Austen & Blake provides a digital preview and samples to try on. It’s a jewellery experience like no other. 

Classic Football Shirts 

Classic Football Shirts became a new addition to Manchester’s Barton Arcade in 2018, bringing a 3,000-strong collection of football shirts to two floors of this beautiful Victorian shopping arcade. Starting at just £20 and ranging through banned strips to legendary match-worn gems, the shirts on sale are a football fan’s dream.

Cos

Cos opened in a historic, Grade II listed building just off St Anne’s Square in 2019, much to the delight of the fashion brand’s fervent fans. The company focuses on classic, understated designs - and the Manchester branch reflects this ethos, with beautiful wooden flooring, elegantly arranged rails and a small but comfortable seating area in which to mull over potential purchases. The clothes do come with a higher price tag, but are made to last. 

Fjällräven

Fjällräven may have opened back in 2017, but the brand is as current as ever, with its backpacks in particular gaining real fashion currency. Translated to mean ‘Arctic fox’ in Swedish, the outdoor clothing and equipment company places emphasis on functionality and making nature more accessible through its trademark bags, clothing and accessory lines. 

Gap

Though not new to Manchester city centre, Gap moved from its former site off St Anne’s Square (where Cos now is) to a unit in Manchester Arndale in 2018. This firm fashion favourite had a shiny new shop fit-out across two floors in the shopping centre and continues to be a clothing staple. 

Irregular Choice

Irregular Choice really is an off-piste option for shoe shopping, having been founded to push back against the monochrome designs that the brand’s owner, Dan Sullivan, saw dominating the high street. The shoes here feature cartoons, art works, glitter, accessories and hand-carved heels; this branch opened in Manchester in 2018, and Irregular Choice has been selling its unique creations at the bottom of Market Street ever since. 

Morphe

Cosmetics powerhouse Morphe, which opened at Manchester Arndale in 2019, has a distinctly modern approach to makeup. The store not only showcases its best selling products, it also highlights influencer favourites and collaborations with creators such as Jaclyn Hill, James Charles and Jeffree Star. You’ll also find a full spectrum of professional quality tools and makeup inside, including over 300 brushes, plus advice from Morphe’s certified Beauty Artists. 

KENJI

Kenji’s Japanese-inspired products arrived at Manchester Arndale in 2018, a welcome addition for those looking for unusual homeware, stationery, fashion and kitchen goods, including comical socks, ornate pin badges and Bento boxes. The ethos here is ‘simple but daring’ - and everything in store bears this out. 

AllSaints

Not new to Manchester city centre, clothing shop AllSaints nonetheless made the move from Market Street to Manchester Arndale in 2019, with a brand new shop fit-out giving the cult British brand with its rock and roll aesthetic a refreshed feel. 

lululemon

Athletic apparel brand lululemon is suitable for running and training, but has had yoga firmly at the heart of its business from the beginning. Though beautifully designed, streamline and always on trend, lululemon apparel doesn’t compromise on functionality - all of which has earned the company a dedicated following. This branch in St Ann’s Square opened in 2018.   

Monki

Monki’s arrival in Manchester Arndale in 2018 was something of an event - not least because of the shop’s lavish interior decorations. Colourful, wacky and playful throughout, the shop has mirror balls hanging from its ceiling and specially-created clothing racks. Part of the H&M Group, the clothes here blend a Scandinavian aesthetic with creative street style.

Patagonia 

Manchester’s branch of Patagonia opened back in 2017 - but the outdoor clothing and equipment store is still worth mentioning due to its outstanding environmental credentials. Recognition of the climate emergency is at the heart of the business; which, locally, has meant the use of recycled tiles and timber as well as light fittings reclaimed from factories in the Manchester and Oldham areas in the shop itself. This is a city centre shop that continues to be worth celebrating.

Uniqlo

A much newer addition is Uniqlo, which has occupied a huge, glass-fronted unit on Market Street since 2019. This clothing company, which was originally founded in Yamaguchi, Japan in 1949 as a textiles manufacturer, focuses on simple designs using quality textiles. 

Polo Ralph Lauren 

Polo Ralph Lauren started over 50 years ago, with Ralph Lauren himself selling a collection of wide ties out of a single drawer in a showroom in the Empire State Building. Its signature style has since become iconic - and Manchester’s branch on New Cathedral Street opened in 2018.

Søstrene Grene

In 2019, Danish lifestyle store Søstrene Grene brought its hygge-inspired homeware products to Manchester. Inside you’ll find a winding route through practical, creative products, all beautifully  designed and at low prices. Keep an eye out for some real gems here. 

Victoria’s Secret and Victoria’s Secret Pink 

Victoria’s Secret is a leading lingerie company that also sells fragrance, accessories and lounge wear - Victoria’s Secret Pink is the brand’s sister store, aimed at younger, ‘college-aged’ women. Both opened in Manchester Arndale in 2018, with interiors decked out in the brand's trademark black and pink stripes, with lingerie displayed on tables and wall racks.

Today, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) announces that its fifth garden and first new garden for nearly two decades, RHS Garden Bridgewater, is opening to the public from Thursday, 30 July 2020.  
 
The creation of RHS Garden Bridgewater in Salford, Greater Manchester, is one of the most significant events in the Society’s 215-year history. Once open, the garden will bring world-class horticulture within an hour’s journey of 8.2 million people in the region.  
 
RHS Director General, Sue Biggs; “I am thrilled to be able to announce the opening date for the first phase of RHS Garden Bridgewater. To mark this momentous occasion, there will be a ten-day opening programme of events and celebrations at Bridgewater in August.” 
 
When the RHS first discovered the 154-acre site, the former grounds of Worsley New Hall had not been cultivated for decades. Thanks to a dedicated and growing team and the help of hundreds of local volunteers, the site is transforming and is currently the biggest project of its kind in Europe.  
 
World-renowned landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith created the Bridgewater masterplan. Its centrepiece, the 11-acre Weston Walled Garden, is one of the UK’s biggest, measuring the size of six football pitches and comprising 11 gardens, including the Paradise Garden, Kitchen Garden, Wellbeing Garden and Community grow spaces.  
 
Head of RHS Garden Bridgewater, Richard Green, adds; “We still have a tremendous amount of work to do before opening but thanks to a brilliant team; amazing local support; generous donations from multiple supporters, partners and members, we are on track and look forward to welcoming visitors this summer.”  
 
RHS Garden Bridgewater is creating almost one hundred jobs, from tree surgeons to therapists, as well as apprenticeships and learning opportunities. Up to 7,000 local schoolchildren will benefit free-of-charge each year from having this abundant, green learning resource on their doorstep. 
 
The garden will continue to grow with further investment into ambitious future plans, including an arboretum, a Northern College of Horticulture, an architecturally stunning glasshouse and renovation of the lost Nesfield terraces.  
 
The garden is enabled by Salford City Council and Peel L&P. Charitable funding to create the garden has been given by a number of funders.* More information on supporting the project can be found here.  
 
Tickets will be on sale later this spring. Entry will be free to RHS members and will initially cost less than £10 for non-members. All Salford residents will be able to access the garden for free every Tuesday for the first year.  
 

The significant development at Emirates Old Trafford includes plans for a new 4,850-seater stand, which replaces the Red Rose Suite, and is set to feature a pitch-view suite, enhanced Member facilities, a heritage centre, ticket office and retail shop which will face directly on to Brian Statham Way. The stand will take the capacity of Emirates Old Trafford to 26,700, making it the largest ground outside of London.

Also included in the plans is an extension of the award-winning Hilton Garden Inn hotel, which opened its doors two years ago at Emirates Old Trafford, due to its ongoing success.

The redevelopment plans coincide with the transformation of the suburb, including the Town Hall and surrounding areas into a new ‘Civic Quarter,’ which covers a 120-acre site taking in the Town Hall, Lancashire Cricket Club, the former Kellogg’s site including the University Academy 92 (UA92) campus, stretching up to the A56/Chester Road and White City retail park.

The Council proposals for the new area include building a new leisure centre; an improved public realm, opportunities for new homes and offices, and improved pedestrian and cycle routes. They also include the possible development of a new public piazza and ‘processional route’ linking Lancashire Cricket Club with Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium.

Daniel Gidney, Chief Executive at Lancashire Cricket, said: “We are delighted that the application for further development at Emirates Old Trafford has been approved by the planning committee.

“The decade-long £60 million redevelopment of the ground was so that the Club could host major competitions, and major matches as it has done in 2019 with the ICC Cricket World Cup and Ashes, and will continue to do over the next five years and beyond.

“The new stand and hotel extension will complete the redevelopment of Emirates Old Trafford. We’re committed to making Lancashire Cricket the best it possibly can be and position it as an unrivalled venue for business, sport and leisure. 

“We’re looking forward to the next phase, which will help us to achieve our vision of establishing Lancashire Cricket as the best cricket club in the world. It’s an exciting chapter for both the Club and venue, and also the region. I would also like to thank Chroma and Paul Butler Associates for their assistance throughout the process.”

(Above - Fig.1: Entrance Façade, St Matthew’s School House, Manchester. © Peter N. Lindfield.)

Dr Peter N. Lindfield FSA is a Senior Research Associate in the Departments of English and History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has published widely on Georgian Gothic architecture and design broadly conceived, as well as heraldry and the relevance of heraldic arts to post-medieval English intellectual, cultural, and aesthetic culture. Last year, as part of Gothic Manchester Festival 2019, he co-organised an event at Chetham’s Library Baronial Hall with Professor Dale Townshend titled ‘Faking Gothic Furniture’. This involved discussing the mysterious George Shaw (1810-76), a local Upper Mill lad who developed an early interest in medieval architecture and heraldry, going on to create forgeries of Tudor and Elizabethan furniture for a number of high-profile individuals and places at the time, including Chetham’s!

Currently Peter is completing his Leverhulme-funded research project exploring forged antiquarian materials in Georgian Britain, and also working on the recently re-discovered Henry VII and Elizabeth of York marriage bed, which itself was the inspiration behind many of Shaw’s so-called ‘Gothic forgeries’.

In this article Peter explores ‘A Mancunian Gothic Sunday School: St Matthew’s’, located at 3–5 Duke Street, Manchester, M3 4NF

Constructed in the last few years of George IV’s reign (1820–30), this Sunday School building is representative of both a particularly pared-back form of late Georgian Gothic architecture and also Manchester as a region (Figs 1–2). Grade II listed (entry number 1200806) on 3 October 1974,[1] this building has only a short, simple entry in the Pevsner Buildings of England series: ‘St Matthew’s Sunday School, dated 1827, converted to offices in the 1980s. Brick, two storeys, with an apsidal s end and windows with pointed arches and simple Y-tracery’.[2] This entry is a straightforward description of the school house, however St Matthew’s form, ornament, ground plan, material, mixture of architectural styles, and survival through the city’s Victorian remodeling, all mark it out as a building important to Manchester’s Gothic identity.

(Above - Fig.2: Apsidal end facing Rice Street, St Matthew’s School House, Manchester. © Peter N. Lindfield.)

To begin, it is of a very simple, pared-back style with little ornament. Much like the Georgian town houses surviving to its North on Byrom Street, the School House is of a simple and cheap brick-built construction not untypical of Manchester. Notably, some details, including the inscription panels, string courses, and upper moldings on the entrance front are in a contrasting sandstone, offering the building a simple bi-chromatic scheme and affording it a little more decorative interest. The primary decorative element is the two registers of windows with Y-shaped tracery that wrap around the sides and apsidal (rounded) end of the building (Fig.2). Lacking any further ornament found typically in expensive medieval Gothic window designs—especially more complex flame-like (Decorated) or gridiron (Perpendicular) patters (Fig.3), as well as the tooth-like cusping (as found in Fig.1)—little expense was incurred beyond creating the windows' pointed Gothic tracery patterns. Turning to the building’s entrance on Liverpool Street (Fig.1), more time, money, and skill was employed in the design of the windows, as well as the façade in general. Unlike the side windows, these on the entrance front are cusped: the two small lancets in each window are cinquefoil cusped, and the segment between these and the arch head is also cusped. The larger window above the doorway is simply a larger version of these windows—made up from three lancets, and the cusping follows the same rationale already identified.

 (Above - Fig.3: Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, West End, largely fifteenth century. © Peter N. Lindfield.)             

In its surviving state, the entrance façade possesses more of a Classical air with a triangular roofline lacking any of the ornament typically associated with Gothic medieval architecture, and the panels are also of a simple rectangular form and the inscriptions executed in Roman script; there is no attempt to convey the Gothic in the shape, ornament, or style of writing. Unlike the remainder of the exterior, the entrance façade presents a confused mixture of Classical and Gothic sources that, for example, are absent in far more expensive commissions undertaken at the time by leading architects, including, for example, the exactly contemporary Snelston Hall in Derbyshire by the London architect Lewis Nockalls Cottingham (1787–1847), or the rebuilt Palace of Westminster in London following the disastrous fire of 1834 (below - Fig.4: Palace of Westminster, London, after 1840 - save earlier survivals, including Westminster Hall. © Peter N. Lindfield.).

Also curious is the Sunday School’s ground plan; with a round (apsidal) end on Rice street, and a flat, transom façade on Liverpool Street, the building takes the form of a chapel—radiating apsidal ends being a feature synonymous with some of the great medieval cathedral in England and on the Continent (such as Canterbury, Peterborough, and Norwich in England, and Amiens, Beauvais, and Chartres in France). This connection lacks any formal evidence, however the ground plan and appearance match that of Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece in Oxford: the Sheldonian Theatre (Fig.3), built between 1664 and 1669 (Fig.5). With an exactly identical plan, the Sheldonian is based upon the idea and form of Roman theatres; the St Matthew’s Sunday School, consequently, is a Gothic version of Wren’s seminal contribution to the University of Oxford’s Forum Universitatis. Could this simple Gothic schoolhouse from the end of the Georgian Period in Manchester be a reimagining of Wren’s masterpiece—of which the similarities in form and the treatment of the entrance façade are striking, or is it simply an architectural riff on apsidal medieval chapels? Either way, it is a modest, but important survival of distinctively local Manchester Gothic from the third decade of the nineteenth century.

(Below - Fig.5: Sir Christopher Wren, The Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford. 1664–69. © Tony Hisgett.)

By Dr Peter N. Lindfield 

Mike’s work brings hidden histories to the surface – quite literally – as through careful study, excavation and ethnographic comparisons, he explores how former cultures may have used the landscape; with an interest in ritual practices attached to death especially. Folklore, ceremony and strange stories abound. This is hands-on research, with Mike involved in everything from investigating Bryn Celli Ddu (The mound in the dark grove) on the Isle of Anglesey and surveying standing monoliths and dolmens, to exploring sites around Lancashire’s Pendle Hill. (Pictured below: Mike sitting within a Neolithic dolmen at Llandudno)

Pendle Hill is after all steeped in the folklore of The Pendle Witches – a tale known by many in the North of England. The year 1612 saw one of the most notorious English witch trials in history –the Lancashire Witch trials - with those accused of witchcraft (and the murders of ten people) involving twelve individuals living in the Pendle Hill area of Lancashire: the so-called ‘Pendle Witches’. These included names that have since become infamous in the area: old Demdike (the nickname of Elizabeth Southerns, a wizened old woman in her eighties), her daughter Elizabeth Device, Chattox (the nickname of Anne Whittle) and Alice Nutter. Accusations against these ‘witches’ included everything from cursing poppets (little dolls), to practicing magic, selling their souls to the devil and murder.

Since the 16^th century especially, the Pendle area had gathered a reputation of notoriety and disturbance – the abbey at Whalley lost in 1537 as part of Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries, much of the surrounding landscape wild and harsh. When James I came to the English throne in 1603 (he was  James VI of Scotland from 24 July 1567), a witch-hunting craze was gripping Europe, and the king himself was deeply  suspicious: having already written Daemonologie in 1597 and warning that witchcraft was a sinful practice punishable by death.

In terms of the Pendle case, many of the accused witches were seen as recusants – those who failed to go to church – heightening suspicion. Of the twelve individuals that were accused, Demdike died in prison, leaving nine women and two men left – one who was tried at York and the rest at Lancaster Assizes on 18 and 19 August 1612. It was ruled that ten were guilty, and the punishment to be execution by hanging. [1]

Whether ‘The Pendle Witches’ were dedicated to the cult of witchcraft, local healers misinterpreted over time or victims of an suspicious society, remains a point of exploration. So too do the locations they were reported to frequent; a key example being Malkin Tower: believed to be the home of Demdike (Elizabeth Southerns). It is here a witches’ coven reportedly took place on Good Friday 10 April 1612, a gathering involving a significant number of those who went on to be accused as part of the trials. Accounts from a court clerk at the time, Thomas Potts, detailed that Malkin Tower was based within the Forest of Pendle – though it is thought that the building was demolished shortly after. Since then, the mystery of its exact whereabouts and what happened there has continued to build.

The search for Malkin Tower has been something that Michael has significantly been involved in, and he spoke to Haunt to tell us more… 

Hello Michael. Can you tell us more about your interest in folklore and witchcraft – where did this stem from?

“My interest in folklore and magic started with my studies into British prehistory and the rituals attached to death and burial in the Neolithic (New Stone Age) and Early Bronze Age periods. The specifics behind these rituals have been lost to time but excavation and ethnographic comparisons with similar cultures death rites can shed some light on the possible meanings behind these rituals. In the last year of my dissertation at the University of Central Lancashire I began a 2 year internship where I was tasked with finding 8 sites around Pendle Hill in Lancashire to be archaeologically investigated by the local community. It was during this investigation that I decided to attempt to find Malkin Tower; home of Old Demdike and her family of witches who were executed for witchcraft in 1612.” (Pictured below: Mike digging at Malkin Tower Farm - the wall behind is all that is left of the structure above ground and is known as the 'Malkin gable')

Your research has significantly helped inform excavation on what is the possible site of Malkin Tower – where The Pendle Witches coven infamously gathered on Good Friday 1612. Is this a different site then to the reported ‘discovery’ of Malkin Tower nearly ten years ago and can you tell us a bit more about your research here?

“The discovery of the mummified cat at Lower Black Moss reservoir was an interesting find as the holing up of live cats in the walls of buildings was a ritual thought to protect the inhabitants of the house from curses and spells. This ritual is similar to the witch marks found carved on beams in old buildings across the country, these types of artefact are known as apotropaic symbols and are thought to ward off evil, items used for similar purposes can be found throughout the world and across the ages. Unfortunately the mummified cat is the only evidence linking the site at Lower Black Moss to witchcraft and it is believed that this site is evidence for the superstitious nature of the inhabitants of Lancashire from this period.

"The popularity of the Pendle witches must be taken into account as the media will often exaggerate the findings and attach them to popular historical events. Recent excavations carried out by myself and MMU on the Isle of Anglesey was reported on by the Sun newspaper who wrote that we had discovered a wizards grave. This statement is linked to the Roman writings about Anglesey which claim the island was the last stronghold of the druids. The druids are a religious group that existed in Britain throughout the Iron Age and Roman period. The tomb we excavated was Bronze Age which is many centuries earlier. Folklore surrounding historical monuments can often be found and I have worked on sites that claim links to King Arthur, Robin Hood, Giants and the Devil himself. These are often grandiose story telling in history or an attempt by the locals of the area to understand prehistoric monuments before the advent of archaeological science.”

What in particular suggests that this excavation site aligns with Malkin Tower? How sure of this can we be?

“The first thing I did in my hunt for the Pendle witches was to review all evidence regarding Malkin Tower and the events surrounding the Pendle witches (particularly the black sabbath held at Malkin Tower on Good Friday). I mainly looked at the evidence from Thomas Potts' Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches which is a contemporary account written by the clerk to the court during the witchcraft trials. Potts book was published in 1613 and immediately became a best seller and gave rise to the popularity of the Pendle witch story. In his account he records that Malkin Tower is within the Forest of Pendle (a Medieval hunting ground with a defined boundary), has more than one structure (Demdike’s grandson recounts going from his house at Malkin Tower to his grandmother’s house at Malkin Tower) with clay floor surfaces in the buildings into which they buried poppets (voodoo dolls made out of clay) and human skulls.

“After reviewing the historical evidence I walked the fields surrounding Pendle Hill with John Clayton (local historian and author of 2 books on the witches) and whittled down the potential sites for Malkin Tower to the most convincing locations. I then looked at old maps for the area alongside satellite images and Lidar data before finally carrying out a number of geophysical survey with a magnetometer in an attempt to locate the ruins of structures beneath the ground. The location at Malkin Tower Farm uncovered two structures that were dated through excavation to the early 17th century.

“At the beginning of this project i understood that it would be unlikely that I would uncover any direct archaeological evidence for witchcraft so set out to search for clay floor surfaced buildings that date to the early 17th century. Malkin Tower Farm has had the name Malkyn attached to it since the 1500s and geophysical surveys carried out found two large rectangular anomalies that were found to be clay floored farm buildings dating to the early 17th century. With the name Malkin being the name for the site 100 years before the events surrounding the Pendle witchcraft trials and the discovery of the clay surfaced structures dated to the time of the witches, it is the best contender we have so far for the true location of Malkin Tower.” (Pictured below: Mike carrying out a resistivity survey at Bryn Celli Ddu)

The dig on the site has also been part of a community project and significant student work. Why does connecting with the past like this still matter today?

“The site at Malkin Tower Farm was excavated over 2 seasons by American and Canadian students lead by Professor Chuck Orser who specialises in the archaeology of poverty and was open to the public. Public archaeology is an important part of what we do and how I started my journey into studying and uncovering evidence linked to the ancestors. We all come from somewhere and everyone should have the opportunity to work alongside professional archaeologists to connect themselves with the stories of the past. Community digs are being carried out across the country with many opportunities for volunteers to gain experience into the study of the archaeology,  if any students at MMU would like to get involved in archaeological excavation then they can contact myself (michael.woods2@stu.mmu.ac.uk) or the history department at MMU for further information on how to get involved.”

Can you tell us of some of your future projects – as well as current work at Manchester Met?

“I am currently investigating the Neolithic passage tomb known as Bryn Celli Ddu (The mound in the dark grove) on the Isle of Anglesey as part of my PhD research project. Geophysical surveys have revealed an Iron Age settlement and possible stone circle alongside several previoulsy undiscovered Bronze Age burials in the landscape surrounding the tomb. The remnants of strange ritual can be found all across Anglesey with many of the Neolithic and Bronze Age tombs having a deposit of human ear bones in the centre of the monuments and mysterious symbols such as spirals, cups and rings are often etched into the stones from which these tombs are constructed. I am about to start surveys near the village of Llanfechell which is home to a number of standing monoliths, a Neolithic tomb and a stone triangle. (Pictured above: Llanfechell Triangle)

"I am often investigating spooky sites too and recently visited a church in Preston where some medieval sorcerers raised the dead through necromancy, one of them is called John Dee and has links to Manchester and was the royal astrologer for Queen Elizabeth."

By Emily Oldfield 

Images provided with thanks to Mike Woods 

The Science and Industry Museum has today launched tickets for Use Hearing Protection: The early years of Factory Records – a new exhibition that will celebrate the initial works of this seminal record label and its fundamental role in Manchester’s music revolution. It will run from 3 July 2020 to 10 January 2021.

This special exhibition tells the story of Factory Records’ formative years from 1978 – 1982, and how it used innovation in the fields of music, technology and design to give Manchester an authentic voice and distinctive identity. Founded by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, the label played an influential part in the city’s transformation from an industrial powerhouse to a beacon of art and culture, and continues to impact current-day creative industries.

Visitors will be guided on a journey of the label’s early work through a display of the first 50 numbered Factory artefacts. These include creations from Joy Division, New Order and The Durutti Column, as well as graphic designer Peter Saville, whose visuals are synonymous with the label.

The exhibition will also provide exclusive access to previously unseen products from the Factory archives. Through a series of engaging and interactive displays, it will amplify the stories of Manchester’s unique culture that gave rise to a new wave of creative industries in the North West.  

Use Hearing Protection has been curated by the Science and Industry Museum in association with consultant curators, Jon Savage and Mat Bancroft. Savage is a lead voice on the history of Joy Division, and the Science Museum Group, of which SIM is a member, has recently acquired his personal collection of artefacts relating to the band. A number of these will be on display alongside objects loaned from the estates of both Tony Wilson and Rob Gretton, the former manager of Joy Division and New Order.

Jan Hicks, lead curator of the exhibition at the Science and Industry Museum, said: “This is a story that the Science and Industry Museum is uniquely placed to tell. Factory Records was hugely influenced by Manchester’s industrial heritage, which we sit at the heart of. It was also progressive in its use of digital and electronic technologies, which are again core focuses of the stories we tell here at the museum.

“We are committed to expanding our collection of Factory-related material and acquiring Jon Savage’s Joy Division archive has allowed us to grow this substantially. It will be a fantastic addition to the exhibition, which is a must-see for anyone who has an interest in the unique culture of our city.”

Use Hearing Protection at the Science and Industry Museum is a new exhibition. It reinterprets the original that was previously hosted at Chelsea Space, London, in partnership with Jon Savage, Mat Bancroft and Warner Music UK.

Jon Savage said: “There’s a direct link between Joy Division and Manchester in their music. The album, Unknown Pleasures, really helped me to make sense of the city when I first came here and understand the developments that were giving it a new identity. 

“Factory as a whole has a deep relationship with Manchester’s industrial past. In Tony’s collection I found a record sleeve made with sandpaper from one of the city’s factories, which I think illustrates this beautifully.

“For me, it’s always been essential that the materials I’ve collected go to institutions rather than individuals. That way they can be enjoyed by everyone, particularly young people, who can use them to understand the unique personality of Manchester for themselves.”

The exhibition will be located on the second floor of the Science and Industry Museum. Tickets will go on sale at 10am on Tuesday 14 Jan and will be priced at £7 for adults and £5 for concessions, with under-12s going free.

A gripping and thought-provoking script gives the play punch; writer Ed Edwards using his own experiences of jail and rehab, as well as insight from Eve Steele – who grew up in Manchester, facing similar encounters with addiction and recovery. Through their own turbulent pasts they have strived to create something positive and insightful, now also running the theatre company Most Wanted together. The Political History of Smack and Crack marks one of their most daring, and direct, pieces so far.

Follow the journey of two lovers (Mandy and Neil) from the turbulence of the 1981 Moss Side riots, to almost 40 years later becoming recovering addicts on those very same streets. 1981 marks the year that riots took place in several British cities after all, crying out against what many considered to be the government’s inadequacy in approaching urban deprivation, the growing issue of unemployment (with levels some of the worst since the 1930s), recession and the hard-handedness of the police. Drugs were rife on the streets, especially ‘smack’ and in its wake, ‘crack’– enchanting the vulnerable and disillusioned, people in increasingly difficult situations. 

Directed by Cressida Brown, honesty is a striking quality of this production, reflective of real-life encounters, addiction and how the road to recovery certainly isn’t a smooth course: a journey that deserves its own attention. Time to face the difficult truth. A two-time Offies nominee and Winner of Summerhall’s Lustrum Award, The Political History of Smack and Crack bristles with humour as well as hard-hitting content.

The play plunges into a powerful account of drug availability in the 1980s, what became known as the ‘heroin epidemic’ and the dark spiral of addiction. Cruel cycles of dependency and recovery, money and debt haunt the characters, drive their hunger. It also sheds a light on the inadequacy of state services to help addicts at the time – forming a resonant rallying cry for recognition and proper support. Yet in a current age of political uncertainty and continuing cuts, the question of what this means for addiction services now makes this play all-the-more urgent.

According to the writer behind it, Ed Edwards:

“Most plays I’ve seen about heroin show the horrors and the degradation of the experience from the personal perspective as if hard drugs have just fallen from the sky. We see some smackhead heading for the bottom and then getting better - again as if by magic. I wanted to show two things differently. Firstly, that the smack - and in its wake crack - didn’t appear from nowhere: they appeared at a particular time for a particular reason and that reason is political. Secondly, I wanted to deal with addicts in recovery - mainly because most of the addicts I know are in recovery -and I wanted to show the madness that goes along with stopping using drugs. I also wanted to depict a fucked-up relationship because this is the only type of relationship I know. I want to make people laugh and make people cry.”

The Political History of Smack and Crack questions people’s prejudices about addiction in an unabashed way – wildly entertaining as well as emotive. For its 2020 tour, the play is again partnering up with Mustard Tree, the Manchester charity working since 1994 to help local people facing issues of homelessness, poverty and dependency. The partnership includes delivering a national art project, involving 6 other charities from across the country. The aim of this will be to create a new artwork made up of service users' creative responses to the play collected through facilitated workshops. A crowdfunding campaign has also been set up to support this project, which will significantly help in allowing these workshops to reach their full potential. (Pictured below: Neil Bell who previously played the role of Neil in the production, and Eve Steele as Mandy - credit: The Other Richard)

After all, The Political History of Smack and Crack is a piece with impact – and the ability to deeply connect. This was see when the play ran for an impressive 13 nights at the Mustard Tree Charity back in 2018; the performances resonating with many of the audience members who were service users themselves and could see their experiences being shown through theatre in an accessible way. A significant amount of community engagement – including working with service users and people in recovery – came as result of the play showing.

We also spoke to Eve Steele to find out more:

Why is revisiting the Moss Side Riots still so relevant today?

“I think it’s not exactly “re-visiting the riots” , more telling the truth about the past that is relevant – and I know it sounds like a cliché but you can’t deal with the present unless you understand the past. As the title of the play suggests, the importance of the story is the history of smack and crack and the politics of that, and the riots are in a way incidental. The play suggests that the drug epidemic that swept Britain in the 1980s originated at the crisis point for Thatcherism and the epicentre of that on the mainland was the riots. That is why we are revisiting the riots. It coincides with the start of the drug epidemic and we are suggesting it is more than a coincidence that a crisis occurred and a blind eye was turned to the international hard drug trade and domestic consequences of that – for the same reason. And that reason was to prevent the spread of world-wide rebellion. We hope that the picture of the past presented will have the effect of revealing those that claim to be the respectable guardians of law and order at home for what they really are. Like in that scene in Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula when Dracula’s victim is sprawled on the bed at the feet of prince of darkness, seeing him as a handsome hero, then another character enters and he is suddenly seen for what he really is: a pile of rats that collapse and scuttle for the door.” 

The play also focuses on addiction recovery – in all its highs and lows. Do you think, in the arts especially, that ‘recovery’ is too often depicted in a particular way – and is this play somewhat a response to that?

“Not so much a response to the depiction of recovery in other plays etc., as an honest portrayal of it drawn from personal experience. The writer is in recovery and has sat in NA meetings for twenty years listening to incredible stories of debauchery and degradation that often become their opposite when people discover 12 step fellowships. At the same time, even when clean and sober the abyss never seems that far away. These are stories that feel like they need to be told, especially when our society is so determined to blame individuals for the problems caused by politics. We believe that if people like those we see sat in meetings can become the heroes they often do, it’s proof that they are not the main perps. Another reason to why it’s the POLITICAL history of smack and crack.”

Do you think there is something we can all gain from learning about the recovery process – whether we are users, addicts, or neither?

“We hope the stories of the play throw a light on the personal as well as the political. Our consumer society must put pressure on individuals to consume more and more, or else the whole system will collapse. This pressure is not just felt by those caught up in addiction. Everyone is feeling compelled to do and be more while getting less and less back of substance. The resulting emptiness is a great spur to addiction and dereliction of the self. Plenty of ordinary people will feel for Neil and Mandy as they replace the raging desire for a fix for the raging desire to fix on another person. They may also relate to the genuine love that lurks under the surface of our characters’ desperate craving!”

This not just a lesson in the hard reality of addiction and what can be done to support it, but a powerful piece of theatre that considers both urban past and present – brimming with hope for greater understanding and empathy in the future. Tickets are available now.

By Emily Oldfield 

Images: Photograph 1 - credit: Michael Mannion. Photograph 2 - credit: The Other Richard. Poster image - credit: Madison Clare.

This is a book with bite – not only considering what defines ‘Gothic cinema’ and resisting the usual umbrella definition of ‘horror’, but also exploring the literary origins, history and ongoing relevance of the mode, on an international scale. Academics as well as those with a wider interest in the Gothic are sure to enjoy the book’s ambitious scope and attention to detail. Gothic Cinema is a landmark achievement, taking the reader on a journey of discovery throughout the decades – from its transitional origins all the way to Hammer’s colour Gothics and the final fitting chapter, ‘Late Dispersions’, which covers the shape of Gothic cinema today.

Celebrating the Gothic on screen matters, and this is a point not only upheld by Xavier throughout the book, but also in the form of an eight-week course in Gothic Cinema he is leading at Manchester’s HOME in early 2020 (he told Haunt more about the course here). This relationship with HOME and celebrating the Gothic has been cemented by Xavier during his time at Manchester Metropolitan University and The Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies (read more about it in a previous Haunt article by Xavier). We spoke to him to find out more about the new book…

Hello Xavier.  Huge congratulations on the book. Can you tell us, what exactly is ‘Gothic Cinema’ – are there particular features you look for that you think define it?

"One of my aims with this the book was to lay down a more intuitive distinction between the Gothic and horror film. I know from my teaching that there is a tendency to separate a subtle form of horror (one which hints at threat and privileges suggestion) from a more confrontational one (one that foregrounds bloody spectacle and/or disgust). The former will normally be understood as the purview of the Gothic, while the latter will be solidly categorised as horror. Although I understand where this distinction comes from – and as I show in the book, it does have important critical predecessors – I’ve always been a little underwhelmed by it. The example I offer in the book is Crimson Peak (2015), which contains all the aesthetic trappings of the Gothic yet doesn’t shy away from blood and disgust, and as I already suggested in Body Gothic a few years back, even the canonical Gothic texts normally taken as the forefathers of the text are more complex in their effects than this dyad implies. Part of what I do is distinguish between horror, which I see as a genre premised on the negative fearful emotions it attempts to generate in viewers but is not constrained by time periods or characters, and the Gothic, which I see as a mode much more strongly marked by aesthetics, time and space. I believe part of the contemporary collapse of Gothic into horror (or vice versa) is that many of the classic films that shaped the history of the horror genre have relied on Gothic trappings and even characters developed from the Gothic literary tradition. I obviously wouldn’t suggest that the two are completely distinct, but I do make the point that not all Gothic films are horror films – rather, there have been many key Gothic horror films. If nothing else, I hope to have told a medium-specific story, a story about what the Gothic has meant for and in cinema."

Do you think the mode of Gothic Cinema has perhaps been neglected in the past – or under-addressed due to the broader categorisation of ‘Horror’? Was this a key prompt behind your decision to write the book?

"Funnily enough, I have often been more concerned with the fact that horror seems to have become Gothic’s ‘nasty’ cousin and that the moment a horror film gains critical traction, it gets considered a Gothic text. This is perhaps due to the happy circumstance that the Gothic is now a lot more institutionalised and has been able to establish its value to literary studies. As theoretical and conceptual tools like the uncanny or hauntology get applied to texts, our own readings become Gothicising agents, effectively bringing out the Gothic elements in a text. I do think that ‘Gothic’, as a term applied to cinema, has been somewhat undertheorised. In fact, as late as 2002, its applicability to film was being queried by at least one critic. We’ve gone some way since then, and the question of what the Gothic might mean in a cinematic context is one that has come up time again for me while teaching and presenting research. I felt this was the right time to address this and come up with a potential solution."

The book spans multiple decades and countries, with historic depth. Can you tell us more about your approach?

"My main motivator was the fact that I hadn’t been able to find a wide-ranging study of Gothic cinema that laid down its main concerns and premises and did so across time and national cinemas. I hope to have gone some way towards achieving this with Gothic Cinema, though naturally, the filmic pool is enormous. Even my broader approach can only hope to be partial and has to leave out certain national outputs that either don’t fit the general parameters of evolution of the Gothic on screen as I see it or feel like they belong in horror traditions that have not been directly influenced by Western Gothic cinema. In some of those cases, say for example the case of Japanese horror pre-Hammer, I wonder if the term ‘Gothic’ (itself a Western construction) is even an appropriate one. I can only hope my work will inspire other academics to develop their in-depth studies of the Gothic cinemas of countries that I have only been able to touch upon. For example, the various cycles of Gothic cinema in Mexico are due at least one big study."

How long were you working on the book for and do you feel that your own relationship with Gothic Cinema has changed over the course of writing it?

"The seed for what would eventually become this book was planted in 2013, when I was invited to speak at the BFI’s Gothic: The Dark Heart of Film season. The wonderful team there asked me if I had a book on the subject they could promote. I didn’t, but this of course got me thinking about the potential value of such a volume, especially given that the other books I could find on the topic were quite specific: they either focused on specific time periods or nationalities. I was then involved, with my colleague, horror expert Linnie Blake, on the ‘Introduction to Gothic Cinema’ course delivered in the autumn of 2014. The questions asked there sparked even more ideas. It took me quite a long time to write the actual book – I’d say, all in all, maybe four years – because of the sheer amount of films I had to reacquaint myself with (and, in some cases, discover) and because I had other projects to finish off. I wouldn’t say my relationship with the films has changed as a result, but rather that I have a newfound appreciation for them. I have always been interested in how industry and technological developments have affected the shape and value of cinema. I’d have to say, then, that what has changed for me is that I now have a much better perspective on what makes certain films stand out as distinct historical pieces. I also have a much better sense of how the mode evolved and travelled between countries. As someone born in Spain but whose sensibility was primarily shaped by British and American texts, I’m fascinated by transnational collaborations and synergies."

You are also leading a Gothic Cinema course in 2020 at Manchester’s HOME – meaning that members of the public can sign up and learn about this fascinating mode. So why is Gothic Cinema (and learning about it) still so relevant today? 

"The Gothic aesthetic is not one we have left behind completely, and it’s steeped in notions of national identity and moral/social codes. This is why I think it’s important to both contextualise the Gothic and accept that it has become a more elastic category. Think, for example, of the latest BBC Dracula adaptation, whose first episode is a deliberate return to classical Gothic. Much like the series itself (spoilers ahead!), the elements of the Gothic don’t remain stuck in the past, but travel, either holistically or fragmented, into contemporary times. This is one of my arguments in the last chapter of the book. Aspects that are of interest to the Gothic – barbaric codes of conduct, the tug-of-war between ossified and modern notions of gender, science and religion (among others), the social construction of monstrosity, the nature of evil – are still relevant to us today. Naturally, an aesthetic doesn’t operate in a vacuum: it mobilises a number of motifs, archetypes and associations. I am interested in what the constants have been in the history of Gothic cinema and in the work that the aesthetic of decay and times gone it has defined still carries out for us. Those attending the course I’m preparing with HOME can therefore expect to learn about film history, but also about why, to quote critic Steven Bruhm, we still ‘need’ the Gothic."

Gothic Cinema is available now. The eight-week course on ‘Gothic Cinema’ Xavier is leading at HOME begins on 14 January 2020 and runs until the 3 March, featuring six sessions and two course screenings. More information is available here.

By Emily Oldfield