Urban Landscape – Page 4 – Mechanical Landscapes

#519 – Manchester – English Steel, Armstrong Whitworth and a railway line to nowhere…..

Looking north to Ashton Old Road and the site of the old North Street Works This is Redby Street in Manchester, a short insignificant street in the Openshaw district. It connects Ashton Old Road and Whitworth Street and is surrounded by wasteland. There doesn’t seem to be that much in Openshaw these days, but at…

#517 – Slater’s Terrace and Sandygate Mill, 2006

I’ve recently been digging through my archive for forgotten or undiscovered images and I took a look through an album of photographs I took in 2006 around the Weavers Triangle area of Burnley. It was a bright Saturday morning and unfortunately I was shooting into the sun, a fairly elementary error in my planning which…

#516 – Hotspur Press

Medlock Mill, aka Hotspur Press has been on my radar for some time but has never been a priority and I always forget to take a look when I’m in Manchester. I finally remembered when I was in the area but only had my IPhone and not much time, so it’s another one to add…

#511 – Pincroft Dyers

Lancashire 1938? No, 2018. It looks like polluting black smoke emerging from the chimney, but it’s actually just steam, the vignette I’ve applied has had the effect of darkening the vapour. This is Pincroft Dyers is one of the few remains of Lancashire’s once dominant textile industry. I spoke to one of the shift managers…

#496 – Denis Thorpe’s ‘A View From The North Exhibition’ and book

Cammell Laird’s 1988 I recently had the huge privilege of meeting Denis Thorpe at the opening of his ‘A View From The North Exhibition’ at Stockport Memorial Art Gallery. I’ve been a fan since seeing his exhibition at the Lowry a few years back and my copy of his book ‘On Home Ground’ is well thumbed….

#495 – Cammell Laird 2

Is there anything more symbolic of shipbuilding than the cranes? In years past, these giant structures towered over the yards and the surrounding landscape like the chimneys of the textile towns. For miles, these huge cranes lined the banks of the Tyne and the Clyde, helping construct thousands of ships. While the Mersey is an…

#494 – Cammell Lairds 1

As I stood on the Birkenhead Priory tower overlooking the yard the 10.55 hooter, followed by one at 11, I presume signifying a tea break. I remember my own time spent working in a huge factory where our day was dictated by the rhythm of the hooter. 7.30 hooter – pick up the tools and…

#488 – Manchester Mayfield Station 3

And so to the last few from Mayfield. Running the full length of the station and its platforms is a vast undercroft. Many old Victorian stations have these vast underground areas, some of which are accessible and in use some aren’t. For example, the area under Manchester Central – the former Manchester Central station –…

#487 – Manchester Mayfield Station 2

After closure, the site remained in Railway ownership and has been used as a location for numerous TV series. In 2005 it was hit by a fire, and in 2013 the majority of the huge roof structure was removed due to it being unsafe. A small section of framework was kept in place, probably to…

#486 – Manchester Mayfield Station 1

Manchester Mayfield Railway Station (NOT ‘train station’ please, we’re not in America), is the largest derelict space in Manchester, a remarkable feat given that it’s been abandoned for over 30 years. It’s even more remarkable when you consider the extraordinary amount of development that has happened in Manchester since the infamous bomb in 1996. Mind…