Long Street Methodist, Middleton, Manchester
The Borough’s official registrar and Jubilee catering visited the Edgar Wood Centre at Long Street on Tuesday as we explore opportunities to use the School Hall and Lecture room for weddings and receptions. It was a good meeting and while nothing is absolutely guaranteed, we are very hopeful that the Edgar Wood Centre will be allowed to hold civil ceremonies.
Thanks go to heritage surveyor Rupert Hilton for spotting that the Pizza Express in Hale, Cheshire has based its artwork on Edgar Wood designs (click here and then the Info tab).
This is the second of two short videos by Judy Barter on how the Arts & Crafts Movement started in Britain and moved to the USA. Judy Barter was the curator, author and editor of the 2010 Apostles of Beauty exhibition and book. The first is here.
Mr. John Archer a retired lecturer of Architecture at the University of Manchester ‘re-discovered’ the work of Edgar Wood while doing on the job training at Middleton Town Hall in the 1940’s. Edgar Wood’s ‘Toblerone’ houses, 165 &167 Manchester Old Road, Middleton facing the then town hall took his attention. John is subsequently reputed to have cycled the highways and byways of the area to discover other buildings by Edgar Wood.
One of the directors of The Arts and Crafts Trust Ltd is continuing the work to get the room next to the kitchen back into use, but what else could Maureen be going on a wet afternoon. The room next to the kitchen was traditionally known as the cutting up room. Can anybody suggest why, other than it being next to the kitchen.
Part of the role of the Edgar Wood Society is to support owners of properties designed by Wood or his partner J. Henry Sellers. It is especially nice when an owner posts their appreciation as Vicky and Duncan have done on their blog about Briarcourt in Lindley, Huddersfield. See http://www.briarcourtrevisited.com/latest-adventures/2015/3/24/new-lenses
Edgar Wood Society members Andy Marshall and David Morris enjoyed a quick visit to Briarcourt, Huddersfield this morning (23rd March) to meet new owners Vicky House and Duncan Morgan. Last time Andy and David were there, Briarcourt was empty, at risk and the prey of architecutural thieves. Now, with their Arts & Crafts vision and enthusiasm, Vicky and Duncan are putting life back into the house. You can follow their progress at http://www.briarcourtrevisited.com/ and on their Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest feeds.
Historically, Briarcourt was an important design, much illustrated in its time. It has a certain angular and dynamic quality that is rare in Arts & Crafts buildings – a sophisticated vigour that is the antidote to rural simplicity for its own sake. Yet, it is built completely in a vernacular hand-crafted way using local stone for the walls and roofing flags. The architect, Edgar Wood, must have put in an enormous amount of thought and effort into the design.
Unfortunately, the weather was too dull to take the planned set-piece external photographs. Instead, Andy focused on the inside rooms and features and we will upload some when they are processed.
It’s a brand new idea… CHAMPING… i.e. camping in old churches! Last night, architectural photographer and Edgar Wood Society member Andy Marshall and I tried it out for the Churches Conservation Trust. I have to say that it is good, in fact its very good!
We set out from Manchester on a brisk mid March morning (16th March) for a day photographing in Suffolk and then at our champing desination, the exotically named St. Cyriac & St. Julitta church near Cambridge. This is one half of the Swaffam Prior pair – two churches sharing the same church yard. St. Cyriac’s church was completely rebuilt in 1806 (bar the tower) by the colourful Cambridge architect, developer and mayor, Charles Humfrey. In contrast, it’s neighbour, St. Mary, was sensitvely conserved by Sir Arthur Blomfield, mentor to the Arts & Crafts designers, Reginald Blomfield (his nephew) and Walter Cave, as well as the writer Thomas Hardy.
The two churches complement one another. Humphrey’s church was ahead of its time, a compact building with a single wide space inside. It’s rational ‘Enlightenment’ Gothic gets straight to the point (sorry!) with an advanced almost mill-like construction where the arcade columns (plastered iron pillars?) rise straight up to a wide (probably) iron beam supporting the roof. Pugin would have hated it but its inherent simplicity and directness won me over.
A quiet and peaceful night ensued with just the sounds of wildlife outside, including a howling fox early in the morning. Yes, it was quite cold, it’s March after all, but the secret to champing in Spring is to sleep off the floor on a camp bed or two pews pushed together and wrap up well.
Andy, who was more organised than me, had brought ground coffee for our morning ‘wake-up’ after which we set up the church for the morning’s shoot.
It’s fascinating seeing a professional photographer at work. Most of the shots he had worked out even before we set off from Manchester and he improvised others very quickly.
Champing is a great idea for combining history and architecture with simple relaxation. Whatever type of church you stay in, it will be a lot more comfortable than being outside in the rain under canvas! The church had a kitchenette, washbasin and toilet – just the minimum.
David Morris
In case you missed this on TV, Tony Robinson examines the life and work of legendary Arts & Crafts architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, and joins the restoration of one of his iconic buildings, Castle Drogo. You can see it here.
On Thursday the 12 March a group from Manchester Age UK visited the Arts and Crafts Church for a tour followed by lunch at the Old Boar’s Head P.H. next door. They particularly liked the small rose windows in the porch doors.
As they were visiting the Parish Church in the afternoon, Christine told them to look out for the various windows there by Arts & Craft’s designer Christopher Whall. A visiting expert Alec Hamilton, has suggested that we investigate the possibility that Whall also made the rose windows at the Arts and Crafts Church.
Edgar Wood is connected to the Staithes Group artists’ colony through his friendship with the Middleton born Staithes artists James W. Booth and, especially, Fred Jackson. In fact, the famous photograph of Fred Jackson with Laura Knight most likely shows Edgar Wood next to Jackson – wearing his trademark hat!
Recent research by several people has brought to light a previously unknown Edgar Wood designed house, The Croft at Hinderwell, near Staithes, built for Henry Silkstone Hopwood. Hopwood was a founder member of the Staithes Art Club of painters, becoming its chairman in 1902 when the house was built: a flat roofed outbuilding next to the house is thought to have originally served as artists’ studios used by club members.
English Heritage has now listed the building for its special historic interest and has now been published on the National Heritage List for England. Below are the details we have been sent.
John Rumsby gave a great lecture on Edgar Wood’s wonderful Yorkshire buildings at the Arts & Crafts Church on Saturday afternoon (21st Feb).
It was Edgar’s mother’s family, the Sykes’ of Lindley, who welcomed the young architect to West Yorkshire. He eventually became its principal Arts & Crafts architect, inspiring many others to copy him. It is as though Wood lived a parallel architectural life there, his robust stone buildings being quite different to those in the Manchester area.
The audience were so impressed with the talk that the Edgar Wood Society is now planning a Yorkshire trip for the summer!
This was the first event in the 2015 Edgar Wood Society calendar. This year is dedicated to Edgar Wood and the Arts & Crafts Movement in the heritage Lottery Fund’s THI programme for Middleton.
Friday (20th Feb) saw around 30 surveying and property management students from Salford University visit the Arts & Crafts Church, led by Simon McLean, Lecturer in Building Surveying. Conservation surveyor Rupert Hilton, who set up the trip, explained to students the repair and conservation issues being tackled, Christine Grime took them on a walking tour of other Edgar Wood buildings, while David Morris showed them around the Long Street Methodist church and school. The format worked very well and in the words of Simon, “it really was brilliant, the students are buzzing“.
We had a good Edgar Wood Society committee meeting on Thursday (12th Feb). One of the things we decided was to set up a research group to look at the key historical figures around Edgar Wood and Long Street Methodist Church.
Much of what we put together with be incorporated into the planned ‘Romantic Middleton and the Modern Era’ film being organised by the Middleton Heritage Film Group.
The group will research the following…
LSM – history, people and activities after 1950
Artists Fred Jackson, James W. Booth, (William) Edward Stott of Rochdale, William Stott of Oldham
Craft workers associated with Edgar Wood and Northern Art Workers Guild
Clients of Edgar Wood buildings
Julia Schwabe of Rhodes
If you have access to any material, please email to let us know!
There was a happy atmosphere as Arts & Crafts Awakening created a new company called The Arts & Crafts Trust yesterday evening (11th Feb). Seven people signed up as directors, with Christine taking on the role of company Secretary.
This feels just the right number and allows a good number to remain as members and supporters of the project. Chris and Lindsey guided us through the evening and the signing of forms etc. Chris will now submit our application to Companies House.
Our next meeting will be 6pm next Tuesday where Chris and Lindsey will help us think through our Middleton and Arts & Crafts heritage offer. We will also discuss the details of our planned Awards for All Grant to help set up community facilities at the Long Street School.
It was a cold start to the meeting as David forgot to switch on the boiler! However, we soon got going with Lindsey and Chris guiding us through the evening’s training. At one point we took a vote on whether to go for incorporation listed by guarantee – the support was unanimous. We also decided to submit a Lottery Awards for All grant to support the community events role of the school hall. Lindsey and Chris were a great help and will act on our behalf with regard to both. For your diary, Chris will come next Wednesday, 11th February, to take our details for incorporation (more on this later).
The grant application for the church roof repair was submitted on Friday 30th January to the Church Care Roof Repair Fund. Many thanks to all those who have contributed! We are keeping our fingers crossed. If we win the grant, we will have to fund raise up to £8,500 between now and July as our contribution. If you have any ideas on this, please let us know by emailing me at middletonheritage@gmail.com .
David M.
