Afterlife for majestic buildings

BURNLEY today has a modern town centre, but also a rich legacy of Victorian buildings which date from the second half of the 19th century.

Between 1800 and 1850, Burnley grew enormously and haphazardly and, by mid-century, was badly in need of change for the better.

The Burnley Improvement Act of 1846 ensured that, among other things, roads were gradually paved and sewered, houses built to a higher standard with better sanitation, and some of the worst bottlenecks on the main road through the town were removed.

At the same time, some very handsome buildings began to add dignity to the centre of what was then seen as a rough manufacturing town.

In the 1850s two buildings, both still in use today, were designed by James Green of Portsmouth, near Todmorden.

He was born in Whalley in 1822, and trained with an architect in Bolton before moving to Todmorden.

He was still quite a young man when he drew up the plans for Aenon Baptist Chapel, on Red Lion Street, built in 1851.

Today the building is used as a club and bar, which would certainly not have been approved of by its original owners, but the name is appropriate -- it's called 'afterlife'!

James Green also designed the Mechanics Institute, on Manchester Road, still regarded, architecturally, as one of the best buildings in Burnley. It opened in 1855 and enjoyed a long and useful life, for many years providing a library, education, and social activities for its members, as well as concerts and other events for the general public.

More recently the building was in danger of demolition, but was restored and has served as an arts and entertainment centre since 1986.

Both of these buildings were designed in the classical style, as was the Market Hall, which opened in 1870. This was also designed by James Green but, sadly, the building was demolished in 1966 to make way for the modern town centre and has been much missed.

The building of the Market Hall coincided with the building of St Leonard's Church, Padiham, which opened in 1869. This was designed by William Waddington, a Padiham man, who had worked with his father in the family building business before moving to Burnley in the 1860s.

He had carried out the architectural work in connection with the business in Padiham and, some years after his father retired, William Waddington, then aged about 50, decided to become a full-time architect. He opened an office at 5 Grimshaw Street and the firm continued in business there until the 1890s.

His first building in Burnley was designed for the Manchester and County Bank in 1864, and is now the Register Office. The building, on the corner of Nicholas Street and Grimshaw Street, has a series of windows with carvings on the central columns. These depict birds, serpents, fruit, and plants, and the intricate carvings are certainly worth closer inspection.

During the 1860s, William Waddington went on to design the rest of the buildings on the east side of Nicholas Street, those in the centre were for the Poor Law Union, and then a hotel, offices, and a warehouse, were built for the Oddfellows Club on the corner of Nicholas Street and Elizabeth Street.

Apart from the building next to the Register Office, which was replaced in 1927, the side of Nicholas Street remains the work of William Waddington and all the buildings are still in use. On Grimshaw Street, opposite the Register Office, is the National Westminster Bank. This was opened in August, 1876 as the new Manchester and County Bank, to replace the original building of 1864.

William Waddington was responsible for the design of the new bank, which is built of Yorkshire and local stone and has a very ornate appearance.

Inside, it had open fireplaces in the Banking Hall, but it was very up-to-date as it was also heated by means of hot water pipes.

In the 1870s it was decided that a new grammar school was needed to replace the old building at Brown Hill which, by this time, was in a very dilapidated state.

The new school, on Bank Parade, is also a Waddington design, a very fine building in the Gothic style, with carvings, pinnacles, and elaborate chimneys. The building has survived and is still in use as part of Burnley College.

We are fortunate in Burnley that so many of our fine Victorian buildings have escaped demolition, and that we are now in a climate where they are valued and preserved. Long may it continue.