My Favourite Building: Arkwright House

Peter Williams, associate director of property and asset management at CBRE North West, discusses Arkwright House in Manchester.

What’s your favourite building?
I would have to say Arkwright House, which overlooks Parsonage Gardens in Manchester city centre. The building has a fantastic history and is an excellent example of 1930s architecture.

When was it built?
It was commissioned in 1927 by the English Sewing Cotton Company and built by Harry Fairhurst.

Why was it built?
It was built to function as the headquarters of the English Sewing Cotton Company, although during the Second World War the building had a much more interesting use as the North West Command Post of Government – it even had an office and sleeping quarters designated for Winston Churchill for use during his strategic visits to the North West.

How was it built?
It is steel framed and concrete paneled.

What do you like about it?
Apart from its history, the building’s location is second to none – it’s very rare to work in a city centre office building that looks out onto greenery. The owners of Arkwright House are currently sympathetically refurbishing and updating the building to enable it to compete with similar Grade A office stock and once finished it will be a force to be reckoned with!

How is it used?
The building has a number of office users, but also benefits from housing a ground floor pub.