Mersey Match Factory

Last updated

The former Mersey Match Factory The Matchworks - geograph.org.uk - 42553.jpg
The former Mersey Match Factory

The Mersey Match Factory, later known as The Matchworks, is a former match factory on Speke Road, Garston, Liverpool, England. The factory closed in 1994, and has since been converted into offices and workshops. It had opened in 1921, having been built for Maguire, Paterson and Palmer, and later used by Bryant and May. The factory was the first building in the United Kingdom to be constructed using the flat-slab concrete technique. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

Contents

Early history

The factory was built between 1919 and 1921 for the match producing firm of Maguire, Paterson and Palmer. The company had been founded in 1898 by J. T. Maguire and his four sons, who had previously worked for the Diamond Match Works in Liverpool. By 1919 J. T. Maguire and two of the sons had died, and another son had retired, leaving only Alexander Maguire to run the company, [lower-alpha 1] which then became Maguire, Paterson and Palmer. In 1923 it became part of Bryant and May. [1] The factory was taken over by Swedish Match in 1987, but it closed on 21 December 1994. [2]

Since 1999 work has been carried out on the former factory buildings by the developers Urban Splash with the architects ShedKM. The factory has been transformed into offices, with service pods added to the rear, and a new mezzanine floor has been inserted. The former service wing at the rear has been converted into offices and workshops, and the Neo-Georgian block between the factory and Speke Road has been demolished. [3] [4]

Architecture

The factory was designed by Mewès and Davis in conjunction with the structural engineer Sven Bylander. The factory range was constructed of reinforced flat-slab concrete; it was the first building in the United Kingdom to use this technique. [3] [lower-alpha 2] The service wing is in brick. [5] The former factory wing is in two storeys, it has a front of thirty-five bays, and is three bays deep. It is constructed as a concrete frame on a brick plinth, the frame being filled with glass. The columns are decorated with Lancashire roses, and between the storeys is a band of coloured tiles. On the roof is a cylindrical water tower with a pointed top. On the rear of the range are six silver-coloured corrugated cylindrical service pods with slot windows. [3] The former service range extends for sixteen bays and is three bays deep, with an extension of thirteen bays, one bay deep. Inside the former factory are two arcades of circular columns with mushroom-shaped heads and square-shaped bearing pads. There are concrete staircases in the middle of the building and at the ends. [5]

Appraisal

The former factory was designated as a Grade II listed historic building on 17 February 1998. Grade II is the lowest of the three grades of listing, and includes buildings that "are nationally important and of special interest". [6]

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. Alexander Maguire had been knighted in 1918 for his work in promoting the White Phosphorus Matches Prohibition Act 1908 (8 Edw. 7. c. 42) [1]
  2. The technique uses beamless floor slabs, and was an important step in the development of the use of reinforced concrete constructional systems in the 20th century. [3] [5]

Citations

  1. 1 2 Maguires in the Liverpool Match Industry, North Western Phillumenists, retrieved 30 September 2013
  2. Bryant and May's Mersey Works, North Western Phillumenists, retrieved 30 September 2013
  3. 1 2 3 4 Pollard, Richard; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2006), Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, pp. 430–431, ISBN   0-300-10910-5
  4. Matchworks, Urban Splash , retrieved 30 September 2013
  5. 1 2 3 Historic England, "Garston: The former Bryant and May Match Factory (1119719)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 30 September 2013
  6. Listed Buildings, Historic England, retrieved 3 April 2015

53°21′02″N2°53′10″W / 53.3505°N 2.8861°W / 53.3505; -2.8861

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Mersey</span> Major river emptying into Liverpool Bay

The River Mersey is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part of the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speke</span> Human settlement in England

Speke is a suburb of Liverpool. It is 7.7 miles (12.4 km) southeast of the city centre. Located near the widest part of the River Mersey, it is bordered by the suburbs of Garston and Hunts Cross, and nearby to Halewood, Hale Village, and Widnes. The rural area of Oglet borders its south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunt's Cross</span> Human settlement in England

Hunt's Cross is a suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located on the southern edge of the city, bordered by the suburbs of Woolton, Allerton, Speke and Halewood and delineated by the West Coast Main Line, Hillfoot Avenue, Merseyrail Northern Line and Mackets Lane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pier Head</span> Riverside area of Liverpool, England

The Pier Head is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It was part of the former Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004, but revoked in 2021. As well as a collection of landmark buildings, recreational open space, and a number of memorials, the Pier Head was the landing site for passenger ships travelling to and from the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speke Hall</span> Grade I listed Tudor manor house in Speke, Merseyside, England

Speke Hall is a wood-framed wattle-and-daub Tudor manor house in Speke, Liverpool, England. It is one of the finest surviving examples of its kind. It is owned by the National Trust and is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garston, Liverpool</span> Human settlement in England

Garston is a district of Liverpool, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is bordered by the suburbs of Grassendale, Allerton, and Speke. It lies on the Eastern banks of the River Mersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garston and Halewood (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2010 onwards

Garston and Halewood is a constituency created in 2010 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Maria Eagle of the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryant & May</span> British match manufacturers, 1843 to 1973

Bryant & May was a British match manufacturer, which today only exists as a brand name owned by Swedish Match. The company was formed in the mid-19th century as a dry goods trader, with its first match works, the Bryant & May Factory, located in Bow, London. It later opened other factories in the United Kingdom, Australia, and other parts of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otterspool Promenade</span>

<span class="mw-page-title-main">England's Glory</span>

England's Glory is a brand of non-safety matches, available in the United Kingdom, using a celebrated image of a Victorian battleship, HMS Devastation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Liverpool</span> Overview of architecture of Liverpool, England

The architecture of Liverpool is rooted in the city's development into a major port of the British Empire. It encompasses a variety of architectural styles of the past 300 years, while next to nothing remains of its medieval structures which would have dated back as far as the 13th century. Erected 1716–18, Bluecoat Chambers is supposed to be the oldest surviving building in central Liverpool.

Liverpool is a city and port in Merseyside, England, which contains many listed buildings. A listed building is a structure designated by English Heritage of being of architectural and/or of historical importance and, as such, is included in the National Heritage List for England. There are three grades of listing, according to the degree of importance of the structure. Grade I includes those buildings that are of "exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important"; the buildings in Grade II* are "particularly important buildings of more than special interest"; and those in Grade II are "nationally important and of special interest". Very few buildings are included in Grade I — only 2.5% of the total. Grade II* buildings represent 5.5% of the total, while the great majority, 92%, are included in Grade II.

Liverpool is a city and port in Merseyside, England, which contains many listed buildings. A listed building is a structure designated by English Heritage of being of architectural and/or of historical importance and, as such, is included in the National Heritage List for England. There are three grades of listing, according to the degree of importance of the structure. Grade I includes those buildings that are of "exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important"; the buildings in Grade II* are "particularly important buildings of more than special interest"; and those in Grade II are "nationally important and of special interest". Very few buildings are included in Grade I — only 2.5% of the total. Grade II* buildings represent 5.5% of the total, while the great majority, 92%, are included in Grade II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Oswald's Church, Old Swan, Liverpool</span> Church in Merseyside, England

St Oswald's Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in St Oswald's Street, Old Swan, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is an active parish church in the Archdiocese of Liverpool and in St Joseph's Pastoral Area. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Michael's Church, Garston</span> Church in Merseyside, England

St Michael's Church is in Church Road, Garston, a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Liverpool South Childwall, the archdeaconry of Liverpool, and the diocese of Liverpool. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It is located on an industrial site between gas holders and a railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Saints Church, Speke</span> Church in Merseyside, England

All Saints Church is in Speke, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, standing at the junction of Hale Road and Speke Church Road. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Liverpool South Childwall, the archdeaconry of Liverpool, and the diocese of Liverpool. Its benefice is united with that of St Aidan, Speke. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Ambrose's Church, Speke</span> Church in Merseyside, England

St Ambrose's Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Heathgate Avenue, Speke, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is an active parish church in the Archdiocese of Liverpool and the Pastoral Area of Woolton and Halewood. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, Presbytery and Convent, Little Crosby</span> Church in Merseyside, England

St Mary's Church, Presbytery and Convent are in Back Lane, Little Crosby, Sefton, Merseyside, England. The church is an active Roman Catholic parish church in the diocese of Liverpool which was built in 1845–47. The presbytery and convent were both built in the 18th century, and altered in the 19th century. The convent originated as a chapel, and has since been converted into a private dwelling. Both the church and the former convent with its attached presbytery are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated Grade II listed buildings.

Sven Bylander (1877–1943) was a Swedish engineer who created steel reinforced buildings, designing some of the first steel-framed buildings in London. His frames included the Ritz Hotel and Selfridges Department Store, which were two of his most memorable works. His standardization methods were instrumental in development of the LCC Act 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oglet</span> Human settlement in England

Oglet is a small area of Liverpool, England, and the city's most southernly point. The area is entirely rural and virtually unpopulated, save for a couple of farms. For most of its known history, Oglet was classed as a hamlet in the township of Speke. Nowadays however, "Oglet" or "The Oglet" is typically used in reference to the entire area of land located sandwiched between Liverpool John Lennon Airport in Speke to the north and the River Mersey in all other directions, except for a short land border with Hale to its east.