Watts Warehouse
Encyclopedia
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 the Britannia Hotels
chain.
, a Mancunian industrialist and entrepreneur, whose textile business had started in a small weaver's cottage in Didsbury
. 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 the cotton
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 the Art Treasures Exhibition in 1857.
The sandstone ashlar warehouse was built by local architects Travis & Mangnall in 1851-56 at a cost of £100,000
. Its ornate style typifies the extravagant confidence of many Mancunian warehouses of this period, but the 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.
During the First World War 1914-18, many employees of S & J Watts lost their lives in battle. The company marked this by erecting a memorial in 1922 in the main entrance to the building on Portland Street. A bronze sculpture, "the Sentry", stands in an arched niche on the right, and on the opposite side is a marble plaque commemorating the dead. The bronze statue depicts the sentry wearing a Tommy helmet
, World War I battle gear
and a cape, standing on guard with his rifle with fixed bayonet
upright, and was commissioned from the British sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger
who also designed the Royal Artillery Memorial
at Hyde Park Corner, London. A statuette version of the figure is to be seen in the study of Eltham Palace
, where it was displayed by Stephen Courtauld, a member of the Artists' Rifles, as was Jagger.
bombs, but it was saved from destruction when the fire was smothered by textiles.
chain originally with 25 rooms and a nightclub, eventually expanding to 363 bedrooms.
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
Grade II* listed building which stands on Portland Street in the centre of 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...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. 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 the Britannia Hotels
Britannia Hotels
Britannia Hotels is a United Kingdom based hotel company with 37 hotels across the country. Britannia operates at the budget end of the market, with hotels varying in price and star ratings around the country...
chain.
The Watts family
The textile firm S & J Watts was founded by James WattsJames Watts
James Watts may refer to:* James Watts , Wales international rugby union player* James Watts , Conservative Member of Parliament for Manchester Moss Side 1959–1961* James W...
, a Mancunian industrialist and entrepreneur, whose textile business had started in a small weaver's cottage in Didsbury
Didsbury
Didsbury is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre, in the southern half of the Greater Manchester Urban Area...
. His success as a cotton trader was part of the commercial boom of the 19th century that gave Manchester the name "Cottonopolis
Cottonopolis
Cottonopolis denotes a metropolis of cotton and cotton mills. It was inspired by Manchester, in England, and its status as the international centre of the cotton and textile processing industries during the 19th century...
", when the city was a global centre for the cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
trade.
Watts became an important figure among British industrialists, socialising with politicians and churchmen at his home, Abney Hall
Abney Hall
Abney Hall is a substantial Victorian house surrounded by a park in Cheadle, Stockport, England . The hall dates back to 1847 and is a Grade II* listed building.-Early history:...
, in Cheadle. Prince Albert chose to stay with him when he visited Manchester to open the Art Treasures Exhibition in 1857.
Construction
. Its ornate style typifies the extravagant confidence of many Mancunian warehouses of this period, but the Watts Warehouse is notable for its peculiarly eclectic design. Designed in the form of a Venetian palazzo
Palazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
, the building has five storeys, each decorated in a different style – Italian Renaissance
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...
, Elizabethan
Elizabethan architecture
Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...
, French Renaissance
French Renaissance architecture
French Renaissance architecture is the style of architecture which was imported to France from Italy during the early 16th century and developed in the light of local architectural traditions....
and Flemish
Renaissance in the Netherlands
The Renaissance in the Low Countries is the cultural period that roughly corresponds to the 16th century in the Low Countries. In 1500 the Seventeen Provinces were in a personal union under the Burgundian Dukes, and with the Flemish cities as centers of gravity, culturally and economically formed...
– and roof pavilions featuring large Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
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
Brodie helmet
The Brodie helmet, called Helmet, steel, Mark I helmet in Britain and the M1917 Helmet in the U.S., was a steel combat helmet designed and patented in 1915 by the Briton John Leopold Brodie...
, World War I battle gear
British Army uniform and equipment in World War I
British Army uniform and equipment in World War I. According to the British official historian Brigadier James Edward Edmonds recorded in 1925, "The British Army of 1914, was the best trained best equipped and best organized British Army ever sent to war"...
and a cape, standing on guard with his rifle with fixed bayonet
Sword bayonet
thumb|300px|right|[[Ishapore 2A1]] Lee-Enfield w/ P1907 sword bayonetA sword bayonet is any long, knife-bladed bayonet designed for mounting on a musket or rifle. Its use is thought to have begun in the 18th century and to have reached its height of popularity throughout the 19th and into the early...
upright, and was commissioned from the British sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger
Charles Sargeant Jagger
Charles Sargeant Jagger MC was a British sculptor who, following active service in the First World War, sculpted many works on the theme of war...
who also designed the Royal Artillery Memorial
Royal Artillery Memorial
The Royal Artillery Memorial is a stone memorial at Hyde Park Corner in London, dedicated to casualties in the British Royal Regiment of Artillery in First World War. The memorial was designed by Charles Jagger and Lionel Pearson, and features a giant sculpture of a BL 9.2 inch Mk I howitzer upon a...
at Hyde Park Corner, London. A statuette version of the figure is to be seen in the study of Eltham Palace
Eltham Palace
Eltham Palace is a large house in Eltham, within the London Borough of Greenwich, South East London, England. It is an unoccupied royal residence and owned by the Crown Estate. In 1995 its management was handed over to English Heritage which restored the building in 1999 and opened it to the public...
, where it was displayed by Stephen Courtauld, a member of the Artists' Rifles, as was Jagger.
The Blitz
During the Second World War, the Watts Warehouse was hit by LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
bombs, but it was saved from destruction when the fire was smothered by textiles.
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 HotelsBritannia Hotels
Britannia Hotels is a United Kingdom based hotel company with 37 hotels across the country. Britannia operates at the budget end of the market, with hotels varying in price and star ratings around the country...
chain originally with 25 rooms and a nightclub, eventually expanding to 363 bedrooms.
External links
- How We Built Britain - 5. The North: Full Steam Ahead (BBC Television)
- A brief history of Britannia Hotels
- Textile Warehouses in Manchester - Manchester UK
- The Britannia Hotel - Manchester Online
- The Britannia Hotel in Manchester - National Archive