- Watts Warehouse
:
Infobox Historic building
name=Watts Warehouse, Manchester
caption=The ornate textile warehouse, now a hotel
map_type=
latitude=53.47895
longitude=-2.237286
location_town=Manchester
location_country=United Kingdom
architect=Travis & Magnell
client=
engineer=
construction_start_date=1851
completion_date=1856
date_demolished=
cost=£100,000
structural_system=
style=Wholesale warehouse in eclectic Venetian Palazzo style
size=Watts Warehouse is a large, ornate Victorian Grade II* listed building which stands on Portland Street in the centre of
Manchester ,United Kingdom . It opened in 1856 as a textile warehouse for the wholesale drapery business S&J Watts, and at the time it was the largest single-occupancy textile warehouse in Manchester. Today the building is part of theBritannia Hotels chain.History
The Watts family
The textile firm S & J Watts was founded by
James Watts , a Mancunian industrialist and entrepreneur, whose textile business had started in a small weaver's cottage inDidsbury . His success as a cotton trader was part of the commercial boom of the 19th century that gave Manchester the name "Cottonopolis ", when the city was a global centre for thecotton trade.Watts became an important figure among British industrialists, socialising with politicians and churchmen at his home,
Abney Hall , in Cheadle. Prince Albert chose to stay with him when he visited Manchester to open theArt Treasures Exhibition in 1857. [http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/manchester/hotels/britannia-hotel.html Manchester Online - The Britannia Hotel] ]Construction
The sandstone ashlar warehouse was built by local architects Travis & Magnall in 1851-56 at a cost of £100,000. [http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=1&id=456047 MANCHESTER SJ8498SW PORTLAND STREET] - Images of England] Its ornate style typifies the extravagant confidence of many Mancunian warehouses of this period, but Watts Warehouse is notable for its peculiarly eclectic design. Designed in the form of a Venetian
Palazzo , the building has five storeys, each decorated in a different style – Italian Renaissance, Elizabethan, French Renaissance and Flemish – and roof pavilions featuring large Gothic wheel windows.The interior was similarly lavish in its decoration, with a sweeping iron cantilever staircase, balconied stairwell, and mahogany counters for displaying merchandise.
War memorial
at Hyde Park Corner, London.
The Blitz
During the
Second World War , the Watts Warehouse was hit byLuftwaffe bombs, but it was saved from destruction when the fire was smothered by textiles. [http://www.industrialpowerhouse.co.uk/downloads/audiotrails/Cotton_trail.pdf?id=235&cat=5&type=2 Industrial Powerhouse audio trails] ]Conversion to a hotel
The textile industries that built Manchester eventually dwindled, and like many other industrial structures in the North of England, Watts Warehouse fell into disuse and was derelict for many years. The building was threatened with demolition in 1972, but was spared. In the 1980s, the building underwent conversion, retaining many of the original interior features. In May 1982, the Britannia Hotel opened as part of the
Britannia Hotels chain originally with 25 rooms and a nightclub, eventually expanding to 363 bedrooms. [ [http://www.britanniahotels.com/recruitment.asp?Page=167 Hotel History] ]Image gallery
ee also
*
Architecture of Manchester
*Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester References
External links
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/britain/programmes/hwbb5.shtml How We Built Britain - 5. The North: Full Steam Ahead] (BBC Television)
* [http://www.britanniahotels.com/display_r.asp?Page=167 A brief history of Britannia Hotels]
* [http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/history/victorian/Victorian3.html Textile Warehouses in Manchester] - Manchester UK
* [http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/manchester/hotels/britannia-hotel.html The Britannia Hotel] - Manchester Online
* [http://yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php?title=Charles_Sargeant_Jagger._Sculptor_(1885-1934)#The_Britannia_Hotel_in_Manchester The Britannia Hotel in Manchester] - National Archive
* [http://www.ukhotel.com/north-west-england/map/britannia-hotel-manchester-ah102700.htm Britannia Hotel Map]
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