Barton Arcade
Encyclopedia
Barton Arcade, Deansgate
, Manchester
, is a small Victorian
shopping arcade between Deansgate
and St Ann's Square. The arcade was listed as a Grade II* listed building on the 25 January 1972. The listing extends to the "block of shops (Barton's Building) and offices enclosing the arcades." The whole was constructed by Corbett, Raby and Sawyer in 1871.
Hartwell describes the Barton's Building facade as "utterly ignorant.. the ground floor pilasters must be seen to be believed." The arcade, however, is "a gorgeous glass and iron shopping arcade with glass domes..., the best example of this type of cast-iron and glass arcade anywhere in the country."
The entrance to the arcade on St. Ann Square incorporates a large, cast iron
and glass
wall. The two entrances on Deansgate
are hidden behind the Barton Building. The building is of "four storeys (with an) attic, a long nine-bay facade to Deansgate, divided in half horizontally by a balustraded balcony." The whole structure is composed of cast iron and glass, with the iron from the Macfarlane Saracen Glass Factory in Glasgow
.
The building was one of the first to be built on the newly-widened Deansgate
road. The arcade was restored in the 1980s. The original shop fronts, as well as the original decorative floor, no longer exist.
Deansgate
Deansgate is a main road through the city centre of Manchester, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile long....
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, is a small Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
shopping arcade between Deansgate
Deansgate
Deansgate is a main road through the city centre of Manchester, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile long....
and St Ann's Square. The arcade was listed as a Grade II* listed building on the 25 January 1972. The listing extends to the "block of shops (Barton's Building) and offices enclosing the arcades." The whole was constructed by Corbett, Raby and Sawyer in 1871.
Hartwell describes the Barton's Building facade as "utterly ignorant.. the ground floor pilasters must be seen to be believed." The arcade, however, is "a gorgeous glass and iron shopping arcade with glass domes..., the best example of this type of cast-iron and glass arcade anywhere in the country."
The entrance to the arcade on St. Ann Square incorporates a large, cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
and glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
wall. The two entrances on Deansgate
Deansgate
Deansgate is a main road through the city centre of Manchester, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile long....
are hidden behind the Barton Building. The building is of "four storeys (with an) attic, a long nine-bay facade to Deansgate, divided in half horizontally by a balustraded balcony." The whole structure is composed of cast iron and glass, with the iron from the Macfarlane Saracen Glass Factory in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
The building was one of the first to be built on the newly-widened Deansgate
Deansgate
Deansgate is a main road through the city centre of Manchester, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile long....
road. The arcade was restored in the 1980s. The original shop fronts, as well as the original decorative floor, no longer exist.
See also
- Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester