The grand designs for Bolton

6:35am Saturday 23rd June 2007

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An architects' practice based in Bolton is celebrating its 145th year with a new book detailing its history and work. Wes Wright looks at how Bradshaw, Gass and Hope helped to shape Bolton. . . .

THERE are not many Bolton businesses which can lay claim to almost a century-and-a-half of continued success.

The architectural practice Bradshaw Gass and Hope (BGH) has worked from the same base in Silverwell Street since 1872.

Established 10 years earlier in 1862, BGH has grown and evolved as Bolton has expanded and changed over the years.

Against a background of industrial expansion, economic booms, global depression and two world wars, BGH developed into a leading and respected architectural practice which has left its imprint on its home town with Le Mans Crescent, making the civic heart of Bolton one of the most admired in the country.

The hand of BGH can be seen in buildings all over Bolton including cotton mills such as the Sir John Holden Mill in Blackburn Road, and many others in and around West Lancashire.

The firm also built the Royal Exchange buildings in Manchester, town halls across the country, several civic centres, countless mills and factories, as well as schools and hospitals, among scores of other public and commercial buildings.

The founding partners commissioned watercolours of many of their buildings and collected original design drawings, photographs and plans which today form a fascinating and colourful history of both the practice and the structures it has designed over the years.

From those records and archives, architectural historians Timothy and Jane Lingard have written a definitive history of the practice's first 100 years using many of the marvellous watercolours and original drawings.

The book, Bradshaw Gass and Hope: The story of an architectural practice - the first 100 years 1862-1962, is published this month with special launches and exhibitions of original watercolours, drawings and photographs, at the Gallery Lingard in London this week, and at the Royal Exchange in Manchester yesterday and today.

A special first edition of the book was presented to the Queen when she opened a state of the art eco media centre which the practice worked on in Kirklees, West Yorkshire.

The book showcases seldom-seen watercolours, drawings, documents and photographs which provide an illuminating, historical insight into the story of BGH.

In addition to shedding light on the buildings, work and lives of the partners and their architectural office, the documents also tell the stories of their clients, the building trades, suppliers and operatives with whom they worked, as well as the communities they served.

Designs were drawn up for a wide range of buildings including mills and factories, non-conformist mission halls, chapels and churches, workhouses and hospitals, schools and technological colleges, retail and banking businesses, country houses, council housing schemes as well as civic centres and municipal buildings.

During the 1920s to 1930s, the firm achieved outstanding success in national architectural competitions with designs for town halls and civic centres.

Buildings designed by BGH which are featured in the book include the Manchester Royal Exchange, Wimbledon Town Hall, Leith Town Hall, Luton Town Hall, Stockport Library, Warburtons Bakery in Bolton, various Co-operative buildings, churches, chapels and cottages at Port Sunlight for Lord Leverhulme.

Between 1862 and 1962, BGH designed 1,500 schemes in Bolton, Manchester and throughout the North-west, as well as others in London, the south of England, Scotland, Wales and overseas.

The informative text and colour illustrations in the book are a valuable resource for those interested in the process of architecture and building from the Victorian period to the second half of the 20th century.

Architect partner David Clarke said: "The practice was founded in 1862 by architect Jonas James Bradshaw, who later took on his nephew, John Bradshaw Gass, and then 20 years later they were joined by Arthur John Hope from Wigan, who was very talented and soon became a partner.

"The practice flourished and it is claimed that at one time 40 per cent of all the mills in West Lancashire were built by Bradshaw Gass and Hope.

"There was a lot of work around in the late Victorian period and what was unusual then was that the practice was multi-disciplinary right from the start.

"The practice became well known nationally and had offices in London, South Wales and Edinburgh, though now we concentrate on the North-west and Yorkshire.

"They built the mills and when the owners became rich, they built their houses and mansions in the Lake District. Later, they built churches and church halls."

David Gibson, quantity surveyor partner at BGH, said: "We have been carrying out a lot of work in education in Bolton and have worked in many schools including Tonge Moor County Primary, Rivington and Blackrod High School, High Lawn School and the new Queensbridge County Primary in Farnworth, among many others."

Today, the practice has five partners in different disciplines and employs about 30 people.

On its website, BGH says it is a multi-disciplined practice in construction design comprising architects, structural engineers, service engineers and quantity surveyors.

The firm is also heavily involved in charity work. Founding partner John Bradshaw Gass (1855-1939), stipulated in his will that a sum of money be donated to the Architects' Benevolent Society each year.

In this spirit, the current trustees of the Bradshaw Gass Trust and Gallery Lingard have agreed to gift a sum from the sale of each book to the Architects' Benevolent Society.

The book is available from Gallery Lingard, London, priced £23.50. Call 0207 352 6034 or email: tpl@gallerylingard.com

HALL OF FAME

The Bolton buildings built by Bradshaw Gass and Hope include:

The Spinners' Hall, Bolton (1880 and later enlargements).

Watermillock, Bolton (1880-1886).

Lincoln Mill, Washington Street, Bolton (1883-1920).

Bolton Evening News offices, Mealhouse Lane (1890-1907 and later reconstruction 1957-1961).

The Victoria Hall, Bolton (1898-1900).

Croal Mill, Callis Road, Bolton (1908).

Great Lever Branch Library (1909-1912).

Farnworth and Kearsley Co-op (1913).

Miners Hall, Bolton (1913-1914).

Warburton's Bakery (1914-1915).

Sir John Holden's Mill, Blackburn Road, Astley Bridge, Bolton (1920-1927.) War memorial, Bolton (1927-1928).

Bolton Civic Centre and Town Hall Extension (1925-1939).

Turton High School, Bromley Cross (1939-1953) Completion of Bolton School east and north wings (1945-1965.) Public housing in Westhoughton, Horwich and Blackrod (1947.) Methodist Chapels, Halliwell and Willows Lane, Bolton (1959).

Reebok Stadium planning supervisors (1997) Bolton Arena (1999-2001).