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St. Marys Parsonage, MANCHESTER, M3 2DE

Extensive re-construction on the Salford side of the River Irwell means that you can no longer see the buildings lining the bank on the Manchester side, from the railway. In sight, from left to right, are Blackfriar's House, Alexander House, National Vulcan's New Building, National Buildings and Arkwright House - all facing away from the viewer, onto St Mary's Parsonage beyond. There is a faint glimpse of the spire of Manchester Town Hall above the rooftops.

The former Head Office of National Boiler - an imposing Edwardian building - was sold by Sun Alliance Group in the 1990s for private development. The result is a top-heavy apartment block festooned with balconies, leaving little trace of the original architectural profile. This back view is from a car-park directly across the River Irwell: the front elevation, in St Mary's Parsonage, is largely the 1906 original; but the adjoining 1970s stainless steel extension fared a lot worse, aesthetically. For historical comparison see photos Image and Image

The River Irwell, has always marked the invisible border between the Cities of Manchester and Salford. Here, we are looking downstream from Blackfriars Bridge. Image] is ahead, past the modern apartment blocks.

Spring blossom on the trees in Parsonage Gardens. The terracotta frontage is that of the National Boiler & General Insurance Company who began life in 1864, in nearby St Ann's Square, and moved to this purpose-built headquarters in 1909. The stainless steel extension - known as the New Building - was completed in the early 70s, as the Company grew. A spate of mergers in the financial sector had linked the National with its sister Manchester insurer, the Vulcan, to become National Vulcan. They moved from this site in 1996 - after the Sun Alliance had joined with the Royal. Business continued at York Street, near Piccadilly. However, they had lost their cherished individual identity when subsumed into the massive Royal & Sun Alliance Group.

A mighty terracotta-clad edifice, symmetrical with towers and cupolas at each end. They're all the same width, but a nice floor-by-floor variation in the treatment of the windows. By Harry S. Fairhurst, 1905-09. Grade II listed. Built as offices, but now flats.

The terracotta frontage of National Buildings can be seen in the background. (Now converted to luxury apartments having once been offices.) The National Boiler & General Insurance Company, established in 1864, relocated to these purpose-built offices in 1906. They replaced tenements which once lined the River Irwell, running at the back of the building. The first ever Radio Station in Manchester broadcast from a barge moored in the river at the back of National Buildings (1920s).

This is the New Building of NV, the Engineering Insurance Group formed out of the National and Vulcan Boiler companies who had been competitors for much of the previous 100 years. The original National Boiler HQ stands next door, to the left, and was completed in 1906 by the same firm of architects who added the extension in the late 1960s. This accommodated the much increased staff levels and, on the top floor, housed the Executive Dining Room where a butler and several waitresses served daily lunches to Senior Management and VIP guests. After NV was absorbed into the Royal & Sun Alliance, in the 1990s, both buildings were sold and developed as luxury apartments. (The penthouse apartment has recently been for sale at around £600,000.) Anyone looking at the building today will see that the clean lines of the stainless steel frontage have been rather compromised by additions made by the developers, including an extra storey. Indeed, some might say that the overall effect is a disimprovement, aesthetically.

Manchester on the left, Salford on the right: River Irwell in between. The BBC's first ever radio station in the North West once occupied a pontoon moored alongside National Buildings (below the overhanging balcony to the left) - the former Head Offices of the National Boiler & General Insurance Company.

The rear of various buildings (hotels, shops, apartments) that face Deansgate in Manchester city centre, from across the River Irwell in Salford, Greater Manchester.