Hanover Building

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Hanover Building
Hanover Building, Manchester.jpg
Hanover Building front façade
General information
TypeOffice
Architectural style Edwardian Baroque
Location Manchester,
Greater Manchester, England
Coordinates 53°29′11″N2°14′27″W / 53.4865°N 2.2407°W / 53.4865; -2.2407
Current tenants Amazon [1]
Construction started1905
Completed1907
CostOriginal cost £50,000, refurbishment circa £36 million
Owner NOMA [2]
Technical details
Structural systemSteel frame with in situ cast concrete floors
Design and construction
Architect(s)F.E.L Harris [3]
Refurbishment work completed by Sheppard Robson [4]
Awards and prizesBCO Recycled / Refurbished Workplace 2019 [5]
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameCooperative Wholesale Society
Designated20 June 1988
Reference no.1025287 [6]

The Hanover Building is a Grade II office building in the NOMA district of Manchester, England.

Contents

Architecture

Hanover was built between 1905 and was officially open in 1907. The building was listed as a Grade II building in 1988. Hanover is forged from two original buildings, E Block, a Co-operative Wholesale Society drapery warehouse constructed in 1904 and Hanover, added in 1909 to create 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of office and additional warehouse space. [7] It was designed by Co-operative Wholesale Society architect F. E. L. Harris and was built using the newest construction techniques of its time. Over 1.5 million bricks were used during construction and the overall construction cost was £50,000 (equivalent to £6,681,000in 2023). [8]

Hanover is a good example of Edwardian Baroque architecture, constructed in red brick with polished granite and sandstone dressings. Local materials were used wherever possible, including Baxenden bricks, stone from Darley Dale in Derbyshire and granite from Aberdeen. The façade has pilasters and Corinthian order columns and the roof is concealed by parapet walls.

Originally, there was another floor which housed the Mitchell Memorial Hall – it was destroyed in the Manchester Blitz of 1940–41 and was never rebuilt. There are a series of medallions around the building which name all the places Cooperative Wholesale Society traded at the time of construction. During construction, a stonemason mis-spelt 'Sydney' as 'Sidney' – the correction can still be seen today. [9]

NOMA

The Co-operative Group colleagues migrated to One Angel Square in 2013 and Hanover now belongs to the NOMA regeneration scheme. As part of the plans, Hanover Building was the first listed building to be renovated. [10] The renovation provided 91,000 sq ft (8,500 m2) of Grade A office space and retail space facing out onto Corporation Street. [7] The renovation was completed in September 2018. [4]

2015 fire

On 12 October 2015, there was a fire on the E Block side of the building, destroying the top floor and roof area. Strip out works were already underway, and the fire delayed the refurbishment program by around two years. [11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Saker-Clark, Henry; Britton, Paul (16 January 2020). "Tech giant Amazon is opening a corporate office in the heart of Manchester... it means 600 jobs in the city". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  2. ↑ "Home". NOMA 53.
  3. ↑ "Shudehill Conservation Area". Manchester City Council . Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Hanover House - Architecture". Sheppard Robson.
  5. ↑ "Sheppard Robson wins three BCO National Awards - Practice News". Sheppard Robson.
  6. ↑ Historic England. "Cooperative Wholesale Society (Grade II) (1025287)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  7. 1 2 "NOMA" (PDF).
  8. ↑ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  9. ↑ "Mis-spelling of "Sydney" on Hanover Building, Manchester | 150 Years of Co-operatives". Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  10. ↑ Jupp, Adam (25 July 2012). "Jobs bonanza as Co-op unveils plan to revamp Manchester city centre site". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  11. ↑ Butler, Katie (12 October 2015). "Manchester city centre fire: Up to 50 firefighters tackling the blaze at historic CWS building". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
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