News & Views

Students from the University of Salford (School of Built Environment) under the supervision of the Program Director of Building Survey, Simon Mclean, return for a more in depth look at the rooms in the ‘community wing’. There was speculation as to the reasons for the cracks in the brickwork starting at high level and extending into the under croft.

Their survey reports for coursework will be submitted in December. I look forward with interest to read their conclusions.

Twenty plus, second year students from the University of Salford, School of Built Environment, under the charge of Simon Mclean (Program Director of Building Surveying) came to survey the school rooms and learn of the issues related to conservation. Reports will be written and submitted for their course assessment. It will be interesting to read their suggestions and ideas for the proposed improvements to prevent water ingress, the heating and the necessary services.

This is the second time that the University has used the Centre for part for their training program. Some ‘high tech’ gizmos were used, the two meters in the photograph were first being checked that they showed the same calibration. Not only did they give a moisture content readings, but also a core temperature and thermal image.

Too clever for me!

All 440 of them! They have now been submitted with the Viridor grant and will also be forwarded to the Heritage Lottery Fund THI. Very many thanks.

Click here to view some of the comments received.

Greater Manchester Building Preservation Trust is applying to Viridor for a grant to save Edgar Wood’s Arts & Crafts Long Street School. Restoration will mean that the premises will be available for community use.

Please show your support in the Leave a Reply box below or send an email to gpg@talktalk.net by Monday 25th September.

If you don’t know what to say, here is a suggestion…

I support the grant application to Viridor for to restore the Edgar Wood School buildings at Long Street, Middleton so that they can be brought back into community use.

Click here for more information on the building.

Many thanks,

Christine and Geoff Grime

Edgar Wood Society, Middleton Long Street Methodist Church & School, Lever Street, Middleton, Manchester.  M24 5UE

The Rev.John Simpson was ordained and moved to the Bahamas and then to Western Australia to take up a post as a young priest. While there he became a close friend of the Brierley family, formally of Rochdale, who had been closely involved in the setting up of the Co-op Movement. B.C.Brierley was a personal friend of the young architect, Edgar Wood, who designed and built Barcroft (Marland, Rochdale) for him.

John was responsible for returning the Brierley family artefacts back to their original homeland in the hope of finding some interested associations in Rochdale. 769 lots of memorabilia went under the hammer at Capes Dunn in  2015 of which several items were purchased by EWS members. This year John has made a personal visit to the UK and EWS member and owner of Barcroft, Georgina, was keen to show him the EW properties in Middleton, especially Long Street and invitations were also accepted by the Mayor (Councillor Ray Dutton) and the Mayoress , Councillor Jim Gartside and his wife Jane a former councillor, were part of a large party attending.