My Favourite Building: Memorial Hall

Hollie Vincent, partner at independent planning and development consultancy hollissvincent, shares her love of a Manchester gem that has been brought back to life.

What’s your favourite building?
Memorial Hall, Albert Square in Manchester

When was it built?
Built to commemorate the 2,000 nonconformist clergy who seceded from the Church of England in 1662 as a result of the Act of Uniformity, the Grade II-listed building was completed in 1863, just before work commenced on the Town Hall. It was designed by Thomas Worthington, a Salford-born architect also responsible for the Albert Memorial which stands opposite the Hall in Albert Square.

What was its original function?
The Memorial Hall provided a meeting place for a whole host of Victorian societies, from photographic to horticultural and elocutionists. It was also home to Sir Charles Hallé’s choir, the Manchester Unitarian Sunday School Union and the Home Missionary Board. More recently, the ground floor and basement housed The Albert Square pub, but this closed about ten years ago and the building has been empty ever since.

What is the style of architecture?
The Memorial Hall looks like a Venetian palazzo thanks to the brick with stone dressings and carved tracery in a Venetian Gothic style. It is said that Worthington designed the building after his second tour of Italy in 1858, although reports also suggest that he may have been inspired by John Ruskin, whose three-volume work The Stones of Venice came out in the early 1850s. Ruskin was known for using different coloured materials and Worthington’s polychromy could have been a response to this. Manchester soon had a number of buildings in this Venetian style – Worthington’s Crown Court is another one that has survived.

What do you like about it? How is it used?
What appeals to me about the building is the attention to detail in the brickwork, and the arched windows and doorways. The use of the red brick also makes the building stand out amongst its neighbours, making the building look slightly out of place, albeit in a good sense! I’m delighted that the Memorial Hall has gone through a £3.5m transformation and reopened as the Albert Square Chop House.