Manchester Town Hall Designed by a Victorian Gothic architect, Alfred Waterhouse, in 1877.

1. MANCHESTERTOWN HALL
19TH CENTURY BUILDINGS
SUBMITTED BY:
NOSHEEN SHAUKAT
NUMRA IQBAL
YUSRA MUSTAZAR
SADAF ALI
RUBAIHA AHAMD

2. TABLE OF
CONTENTS
 Introduction
 The 19th Century
 Major styles of the 19th century
 Old town hall
 Refurbishing the town hall
 New town hall
 Architectural features
 Clock tower
 Current use
 Current view
 The future

3. INTRODUCTION
■ Located in Manchester, England, it serves several purposes to the locals as well as the
government which will be discussed in the coming slides.
■ Designed by aVictorianGothic architect,Alfred Waterhouse, in 1877.
■ We will mainly discuss the architecture of the 19th Century, the need to renovate this
building and its current position in the 21st Century.

4. THE 19TH CENTURY
■ The 19th Century architecture mainly refers to the Greek,
Gothic and Renaissance ages.
■ Also called the ‘Victorian architecture’.
■ Two main features distinguish the architectural style of
that time i.e. the historical styles and development of
new materials and methods.
■ The continuation of earlier styles meant to put together
the past trends and it can be seen in town halls, railway
stations and opera houses.
■ New industrial needs also emerged for buildings
factories, warehouses, etc.

5. MAJOR STYLES OFTHE 19TH CENTURY
Originated in the 12th Century, the Gothic style is
recognized by its pointed or ogival arch. Many
cathedrals were built in this style. Moreover, the use of
stained glass was also started in decoration phase.We
can see pointed arches, rib vaults and towers in many
gothic constructions.
Victorian refers to the reign of queenVictoria, also
known as the ‘Victorian era’ due to the style of
construction used.This style consists of usually
large and vast rooms, use of wood and stone and
textured surfaces.

6. Neoclassical architecture, revival of Classical
architecture during the 18th and early 19th centuries. It is
characterized by grandeur of scale, simplicity of geometric
forms, Greek—especially Doric, dramatic use of columns, and
a preference for blank walls. In the United States
Neoclassicism continued to flourish throughout the 19th
century, as many architects looked to make
the analogy between the young country and imperial Rome
when designing major government buildings.

7. OLDTOWN HALL
■ It was designed by Francis Goodwin in a Grecian Style with a
colonnaded façade.
■ Neo-Classical architecture
■ It was designed in the style of theTemple of Erectheus in
Athens with its dome modelled on the octagonal tower of
Andronicus.
■ At its front were figures representing the commerce and trade
of Manchester
■ Entrance hall have two statues, one of Solon and the other of
Alfred the Great.
■ The ground floor was used mainly by the police.
■ The second floor which became the Library reading room, was
said to be quite an imposing chamber filled with massive
fluted pillars and topped with the central dome.

8. REFURBISHINGTHETOWN HALL
Why Manchester town hall was changed?
■ It was evolved because the neo-classical town hall in King
Street had become too small to house the expanding
business of the corporation
■ The city center site was an irregular triangle, on the east
side of Albert Square. It needed to fit a large hall, a suite of
reception rooms and living quarters for the Lord Mayor.
OLD MAP OFTOWN HALL

9. ■ More-over offices for all the corporation departments and
a chamber for council meetings was needed.
■ The building needed to undergo immediate repairs to
avoid the risk of the building deteriorating further.
Cross section design by
Waterhouse

10. NEWTOWN HALL
 Alfred focused on low rib vault ceilings and tall arched
windows.
 The building was designed to support the practical
technologies of the 19th century.
 It incorporated innovations such as warm-air heating
system, which provided fresh air drawn through
ornamental stone air inlets.
■ Warmed, fresh air was fed into the stairwells and through
hollow shafts within the spiral staircases to ventilate the
corridors.
■ It had gas lighting pipes installed underneath the banister
rails of the spiral staircases/
■ The building structure was made fireproof, using a
combination of concrete and wrought-iron beams.

11. MANCHESTERTOWN HALL
ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES
 Waterhouse's design is a Gothic style.
 It's regarded as one of the finest examples of Neo-Gothic architecture
 It was decided to spent minimal money on the building.
 As most of its architectural effect would be lost and ruined by soot and
pollution.
 Thus it has limited carved decoration and a uniform color.
 The rapid increase in pollution inVictorian cities caused great problems
for architects.
Exterior
 Waterhouse avoided using a polychrome scheme as seen in HighVictorianGothic buildings
 It was believed to be impractical as Manchester's industrial atmosphere would quickly ruin the
effect and decided a uniform stone exterior was the better solution.
 Statues of notable figures in the city's history decorate it’s exterior.
 Waterhouse's design proved successful but its exterior was blackened by the late 1890s

12.  The stonework was in a suitable condition to be
cleaned and restored to its original appearance in
the late 1960s.
 It incorporated innovations such as a warm air
heating system.
 Clear glass was used in important rooms, with
light-colored tints for colored glazing.
 First floor rooms were made with iron-frames.
 Skylights, extra windows and dormers borrowed
lights for interior spaces and glazed white bricks in
conjunction
Statues include:
 Over the main door is a statue of the
RomanGeneralAgricola
 Above him are Henry III and Elizabeth I,
 while at the apex of the main door
gable is a statue of St. George.

13. Interior
 Waterhouse's plan for the town hall bridged the gap between office
and ceremonial requirements and maximized space on its triangular
site.
 His design for a six-story building filled the asymmetrical site.
 Its perimeter is such that a cloister of corridors link offices and
everyday workings.
 By the main entrance onAlbert Square are two grand staircases
leading to the landing outside the Great Hall.
 The stairs have low risers allowing access for women in
Victorian dress.
 The walls of the staircases have tall, arched windows admitting
daylight.
Sculpture Hall:
• The ground-floor Sculpture Hall contains statues and busts of people who
made significant contributions to Manchester hall.
• The room measures 53 feet by 33 feet and has a groin vaulted ceiling,
constructed out of Bath stone.

14. CLOCKTOWER
 Clock tower being 280 feet tall is the sixth tallest building in Manchester.
 There are 173-step staircase which leads to the bell chamber and the clock.
 The minute hand being 10ft-long.
 The clock mechanism was made by Gillet and Bland.
 In total of 23 bells are hung
 Its clock was originally wound using hydraulic power supplied by Manchester Hydraulic
Power.
 The clock bell first rang on NewYear's Day 1879, but cracked and was replaced in 1882, and
then the bells were recast in 1937.
 As of 2017, Change-Ringing is not currently permitted on the bells, due to the necessity of a
restoration to the building.
Great Hall:
 The landing has a glazed skylight on which the names of mayors, lord mayors
and chairs of the council are inscribed on glass panes.
 The landing has a mosaic floor with a pattern of bees and cotton flowers.
 The rectangular hall measures 100 feet by 50 feet.
 Natural light permeates from seven high windows on either side of the hall
from the courtyards outside.
 It has a wagon roof its ceiling divided into panels.

15. CURRENT USE
■ Council meetings are no longer regularly held in the
town hall, but in theTown Hall Extension.The hall
now has a number of other uses. It is licensed for
weddings and civil partnerships and is
LOCATION FORTELEVISION & FILM:
As the town hall bears some resemblance to the Palace
ofWestminster, it has been used as a location for
television and films.

16. POLICE STATION:
In 2014, a 24-hour police station reopened in the town hall,
after having been closed in 1937.
ANNOUNCMENTOF RESULTOF REFERENDUM:
On Friday 24 June 2016 the venue was used to announce the
official result of the EU Referendum by the chair of the
Electoral Commission
HALL (Major refurbishment project):
TheTown Hall celebrated its 140th birthday in 2017 and a major
refurbishment project, OurTown Hall, project started in
January 2018.

17. CURRENTVIEW
ManchesterTown Hall in Albert Square is one of the most
iconic landmarks in the city. It is one of the most important
Grade One listed buildings in England.The main tower of
AlfredWaterhouse's ManchesterTown Hall. Built 1868-77,
the town hall faces Manchester'sAlbert Square.
F. A. Bruton wrote that "TheTown Hall is best viewed
when the Square is empty and silent, as, for example, on
Saturday afternoon or Sunday, and it is then that we may
realize what a splendid "ruin" it will make, to excite the
wonder of the South Sea Islander
of the future."

18. THE FUTURE
■ The iconic ManchesterTown Hall closed its doors to the public on 1 January 2018 and will reopen in its
full glory in 2024 after an extensive refurbishment.
■ Purcell has been appointed as the architect for the refurbishment of the Grade I-listed Manchester
Town Hall.The repair and upgrade project will bring the 1877 building, designed by AlfredWaterhouse,
up to ’modern access and safety standards’ and will include the restoration of the Great Hall and its
Ford Madox Brown murals. External repairs include work on the roof, stonework and drains.
■ The need to refurbish the building was to repair defects, renew the building services including replacing
the wiring and plumbing, and add modern facilities like communication links that will make the building
more functional, sustainable and easier to maintain.

19. “Purcell has realized our vision for the project exceptionally well.The creative and
intellectual input is first class, and you respond to the many challenges we throw at
you with good grace and a commitment to always deliver, often to demanding
deadlines.”
PAUL CANDELENT, PROJECT DIRECTOR, MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL

20. Concluding this topic, the Manchester town hall is one of the
buildings of the 19th century that reflects Gothic andVictorian
architectural styles. Although it is being renovated, it will always
have the aura of historical architectural styles and will continue to
be their great example.

21. THANK YOU