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Clarence Street, MANCHESTER, M2 4DE

A mix of sizes and styles, looking up along the line of Clarence Street from Princess Street by the town hall.

Lombard Chambers is all that remains of Brook's Bank, the original building which opened in 1868, continued through to King Street. William Cunliffe Brooks, MP for East Cheshire, was a very wealthy banker and commissioned George Truefitt to design a building worthy of his financial institution. It has some unusual architectural features such as the spiky metal cage at the top of the tower.

Clarence House nicely rounds the corner of Clarence Street and Tib Lane. It is probably early Victorian, with arcaded windows divided by giant pilasters, and a fine pedimented doorcase. A few days before submission (February 2012) its 8,000 square feet of office space were sold for £2.8 million.

Particularly ornate Venetian Gothic, laden with tracery, and a central oriel. By Thomas Hartas, 1884-85. Grade II* listed. It still houses the library, one of the UK's oldest, founded in 1820. The offices above were to let.

Packing a lot into its narrow frontage but without being overly flashy. By Edward Salomons, 1872, when it was known as Massey Chambers. Grade II listed. I think it has now been converted to flats.

Pearl Assurance House so presumably built for the eponymous insurance company. It has an Art Deco-style stepped frame round the entrance but otherwise markedly lacking in decorative touches.

Grade II listed. http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-456069-northern-assurance-building-

Built 1846-47 by R.E. Whittaker for R.H. Greg & Co (remembered in the current name, Gregs Buildings). A simple design, but attractive in its combination of stone and red brick, and the quality of its modest details. Pevsner notes its importance as an example of "fireproof construction applied to a warehouse, with cast-iron columns and beams and brick jack arches. Manchester warehouses seldom adopted this form, preferring to stick to the cheaper option of timber floors." Grade II listed. It is being marketed as high-quality "boutique" offices, which makes a nice change from all those low-quality offices being advertised, but I've no idea what boutique means in this context.

Described as "31 Pall Mall, 1 Booth Street" by Historic England, the listing is equally vague about the history. " Probably warehouse, now offices. Probably 1850s." See https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1283076

Now offices, Massey Chambers was built by architect Edward Salomons in 1872. Notable for the inticate Renaissance-style decoration on the front. This close-up view shows the lintel over the doorway with the raised and embellished lettering "MASSEY CHAMBERS" and the prominent cornice and carved pedimented entablature. See Image] and Image