Manchester Piccadilly Warehouses

Dale Street warehouse, 2010

Dale Street warehouse, 2010

Dale Street warehouse, column in room used as a bathroom showroom, 2010

General

This entry relates to a number of warehouses or goods stations in the Piccadilly area of Manchester. Piccadilly here is used as shorthand for an area centred on the Rochdale and Ashton Canal basins, and bounded by Piccadilly, Port Street, Great Ancoats Street and Store Street.

It was of the three main areas of warehousing and distribution yards in central Manchester, the others being Castlefield, and the Water Street area along the River Irwell. The sites were originally stimulated by the waterways, and then by the coming of the railways.

Many of the Piccadilly area warehouses had direct canal access, with barges docking in portals from which goods could be transhipped. Some had hoists powered by waterwheels. These took water from the canals, but obviously the water had to leave at a lower level. Fortuitously the land was not level here, as witnessed by the number of canal locks, so this presumably allowed the water to be returned to the Rochdale Canal or perhaps to the Shooter's Brook. The brook was probably responsible for lowering the land level in the Store Street area, which dictated the need for the Store Street Aqueduct. This pioneering skewed aqueduct took the Ashton Canal only a short distance west before it terminated in the Ashton Canal Basin.

Many old photographs of the environs of the warehouses may be found on the Manchester City Council Local Image Collection.

London Road Railway Goods Warehouses

Piccadilly Station was originally named London Road Station. The lines to the passenger terminus also served a number of goods stations. Initially the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway had 'Corn and Flour Stores' at the junction of Store Street and Sheffield Street, with a railway connection across Sheffield Street. They also had a large warehouse across Store Street which backed on to the Manchester Ashton-under-Lyne Oldham and Stockport Canal wharf.

The MS&LR (later Great Central Railway warehouse was soon joined by a London and North Western Railway warehouse, and the two were served by railway lines crossing Store Street. The GCR goods station was considerably enlarged, and the complex backed onto Ducie Street.

Useful information, including an aerial view of the area, may be found here

1849 'LONDON AND NORTHWESTERN AND MANCHESTER, SHEFFIELD, AND LINCOLNSHIRE RAILWAYS. TO IRONFOUNDERS AND OTHERS. The Directors will meet at their Offices, in Manchester, on WEDNESDAY, the 16th May, to receive TENDERS for the CONSTRUCTION of an IRON VIADUCT, to be erected on the Northern side of the Manchester Station, between Ashton-street and Store-street and Store-street. Plans, Specifications, Draft and Forms of Tender may be seen at the Company's Offices, in Manchester, and also at the Offices of ALFRED S. JEE, Esq., at 6, John-street, Adelphi, London, on and after MONDAY next, the 30th instant. Sealed Tenders to be sent to the SECRETARY at the Offices of the Company, in Manchester, on or before twelve o'clock, on the Morning of the 16th May, after which time no Tenders will be received.
Parties Tendering should either be present themselves, or send an authorized Agent. The Directors will not consider themselves bound to accept the lowest Tender.
By order, J. H. HUMFREY, Secretary Manchester, April 25th, 1849.'

1850 Robinson and Russell provided ironwork for the 'stupendous' viaduct for the joint MS&LR/LNWR goods station in Manchester. The viaduct had large cast iron girders supported by 28 cast iron Doric columns, 20 ft high, each weighing 6½ tons. Store Street was crossed by a 68 ft span wrought iron bridge of unusual design. The designer was Alfred Stanistreet Jee.. All of the cast iron was of the toughened type patented by J. D. M. Stirling. An old photograph here shows that the by 1896 the bridge across Store Street had been replaced by a less interesting version. Doric columns can be seen in this 1912 photograph.

1851 'INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS, JAN.27.- Mr. J. M. Rendel, president, in the chair.
….. The paper read was a "Description of a Cast Iron Viaduct erected at Manchester, forming part of the Joint Stations of the London and North Western, and Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railways, by Mr. A. S. Jee, M. Inst. C. E. The object of this structure was to obtain increased accommodation for the goods station of the two companies, which was formed on brick arches, at a level of about 30 feet above the adjacent streets, Ihe arches themselves being used as goods warehouses, and the communication between the two levels being effected by means of hoists. This extension was 700 feet long and 36 feet wide, and as it was necessary that it should cover, without interfering with, the lines of way on the low level, a row of Doric columns, of cast iron, surmounted by an entablature forming the inclosure of the station, was arranged, each about 20 feet apart from centre to centre, on the outer boundary of the space to be occupied, and on these one end of a transverse cast iron girder was placed, the other end being supported by the brick arching. To the transverse girders longitudinal cast iron girders, one to each rail, were attached, and to these, half balks of Memel timber were bolted, the whole being planked with 3-inch deals, on which three lines of way, and an ample supply of turn-tables for working the traffic, were laid. To effect a communication between this station and a warehouse belonging to the Sheffield Company, Store-street had to be crossed, which was done by means of wrought iron girders, 68 feet clear span, of peculiar construction. The top part of these girders consisted of a cylindrical tube, 2 feet in dameter, made of boiler plate half inch thick ; the middle web was 3 feet 6 inches in depth, and formed of plates 5-16ths of an inch thick; the bottom flange was 20 inches in width, and at the centre was composed of three plates, each 3-8ths of an inch thick , diminished to one plate at the ends. These girders were each tested with a weight of 60 tons at the centre, when the deflection was not found to exceed one inch. The whole of the cast iron work was of Stirling's Toughened Iron, by which a saving, in weight, of about one fourth of the quantity that would have been necessary with ordinary iron, was effected, without any diminution in the absolute strength. Messrs. Robinson and Russell were the contractors, and they had most satisfactorily performed the work, the total cost of which, including twenty-one turn-tables, was under £14,000, or about £20 per lineal foot.’. Part of the I.C.E discussion (pp.233-243) may be read here.

1852 'Institution of Civil Engineers, February 3.— James Simpson, Esq., Vice-President, in the chair. — In the renewed discussion, which occupied the entire evening, on Mr. Jee's paper "on the cast-iron viaduct erected at Manchester, forming part of the joint station of the London and North-Western, and Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire railways," Mr. Hawkshaw described a nearly similar structure which had been erected at Salford, in 1842, forming a junction between the Liverpool and Manchester, the Manchester and Leeds, and Manchester and Bolton railways. In this structure the columns were placed in pairs, and, instead of planking between the transverse girders, flat brick arches, set in cement, were intro- duced. Some interesting experiments on the strength of the girders were given, and the ingenious steelyard lever testing machine was described. The question then turned upon the peculiar form of the wrought-iron girder bridge over Store-street, and on the manner in which the experiments had been made for ascertaining its strength. From minute calculations which were given, it appeared that this bridge was, foot for foot, as strong and stiff as wrought- iron, cellular-top, tubular girders of the ordinary form, and though, in this instance, the size of the cylindrical top, which was required to be large enough to admit a man for painting the inside, and for necessary repairs, might seem disproportioned to the depth of the girder, yet this would not be the case if the span and depth of the girder was increased, as the cylindrical top might still remain of the same size. By some speakers, however, it was contended, that in applying wrought iron to girders of comparatively small span, there really was no necessity, nor was it advisable, either as regarded strength, or convenience, to adopt the cellular form, but that the girder should be of the ordinary, simple, double T section, with the bottom flange, and the middle web of wrought iron, and the upper flange either of wrought or of cast iron, the latter being the best suited for resisting the compressive strain to which that part of a girder was subjected; and it was thought, that both of these forms would be a more economical application of material for girders of limited extent than cellular tops. A modification of these different plans was described to consist in a kind of flattened, triangular top, of which the base was uppermost, and the plates were thickest, representing the upper flange of the ordinary girder, the two sides being merely thin plates, to prevent the edges of the upper flange from buckling under the com- pressive strains. Doubts were also raised, as to whether painting was the best mode of protecting wrought iron from oxidation; and it was suggested, as an improvement, that the iron should, in the first instance, be thoroughly cleaned and plunged at a low heat in common oil, and then dried. An alloy of cast iron, containing a small portion of tin, was also said to prevent, effectually, the injurious effects of oxidation. The method of combining wrought with cast iron, by Stirling's process, was also described, and the great tenacity and strength ofthe metal was fully admitted.'

Details of the warehouses are well-shown in Goad's Insurance Plans dated 1889. The largest building, which is the only survivor and was opened in 1867, had 7 storeys. Trains came in at the ground floor level alongside platforms for loading and unloading. Hoists raised and lowered goods through 18 floor openings measuring 6ft by 5ft protected by wrought iron folding flaps. The floors were supported by cast iron columns whose diameter increased progressively with each floor level. The bottom of each floor comprised brick arches springing from cast iron girders. Concrete was laid on the brick arches, with wooden joists and plank floors on top of the concrete. The floor above the loading floor was called the shipping room, with cotton and sugar stored above that, followed by hops on the next floor, cotton, hemp and paper on the next, then rope and hemp, while the top floor contained machinery and the railway company's stores. There was a smaller warehouse running along Store Street, with a four bay loading shed between the two warehouses. These were owned by the MS&LR/GCR.

The L&NWR had a warehouse to the west of the GCR warehouses.

The GCR had another warehouse, called the Union Warehouse, on the opposite side of London Road. The 1889 Goad plan shows 7 floors above ground level, used for storing flour, grain, rope, cotton and general goods, while oil was stored in the basement. The Rochdale Canal ran through two tunnels below the warehouse. There was an opening through the roof of one tunnel into the ground floor room. This warehouse was not of 'fireproof' construction. It was also shown as Union Warehouse on the 1849 OS map. The same building is also shown on Bancks's 1831 map, clearly showing that it pre-dates the coming of the railway.

A 1966 photo taken during the demolition of the former LNWR depot reveals a rather relaxed approach to health and safety.

The 1889 Goad plans also shows a vast network of vaults beneath London Road (now Piccadilly) Station, which were used to store a variety of goods. The plans also show that the former MS&LR Corn & Flour Stores (shown on the 1849 OS map on the north side of Sheffield Street) were now embodied in the Station complex, following the construction of a viaduct covering that part of Sheffield Street. The seven-storey building was now a grain warehouse and bonded store.

Dale Street Warehouse

This is a rare surviving Manchester example of a stone-built warehouse dating from 1806, probably designed by William Crosley. The floors are supported by cast iron columns. These are unusual in having branched arms to help support the floor joists, while those on upper floors have ridges cast in to accommodate partitions.

In 1824 a water wheel and machinery were installed by T. C. Hewes to operate hoists in this and an adjacent warehouse.

Ashton Canal Warehouses

These warehouses, along with the Store Street Iron Works, were built around the canal basin, and the arrangement shown on 1849 OS map suggests that this was a relatively secure compound. In fact there was no access for barge horses, the towpath being turned of immediately after passing under the Junction Street bridge.

In 1849 the largest warehouse in this compound belonged to the MS&LR. This became the location of the group described above as the London Road Warehouses. Sandwiched between this warehouse and the Store Street Iron Works was the Manchester Surveyors of Highways Paving Stone and Sand Yard, where materials were brought in by barge and sent out by cart onto Store Street.

Warehouses and wharfs on the Ducie Street side dealt mainly with coal in 1849, although there was also an iron warehouse at the Piccadilly end. Owners of warehouses here included the North Staffordshire Railway, Anderton Carrying Co, Peak Forest Canal Co, Ashton Canal Co, Fairbottom Blackmine Co, and the Huddersfield Canal Co.

A 1960 photo shows an area near the basin with an ancient wooden crane.

Brown's Field Area

This is at the northern corner of the area under consideration, furthest from Piccadilly. The 1849 OS map shows a group of three large square buildings collectively labelled Iron Warehouses, with the frontage on Port Street, and backing on to an arm of the Ashton Canal. Goad's Plans show that by 1888 only the western building of the three was used for iron, being occupied by Hall and Pickles. The adjacent building was unoccupied, while the third was occupied by McDougall Bros, 'agricultural chemists'. Hall & Pickles had another warehouse for iron on the opposite side of the canal, and alongside this was the 'Burton lime plaster and lath warehouse' of Samuel Bibbington.

2014 Archaeological Study

This study focused on a area of the Rochdale Canal Basin adjacent to Jackson’s Warehouse, an 1836 Grade II* listed building. Within a 200 metre radius of the Site Area there are 22 buildings or structures of special architectural interest which are listed Grade II or Grade II*.

See Also

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