Ship Canal House

Ship Canal House is an office building located on King Street in Manchester, constructed in 1927 by architect Harry S. Fairhurst. This steel-framed structure is clad in Portland stone and features an L-shaped plan, with a rectangular form except for a re-entrant at the rear of 44-46 Brown Street. The building is designed in a 20th-century classical style and stands seven storeys tall, including a basement and attic, with a symmetrical façade of seven bays.

The ground floor exhibits channelled rustication, while the fifth and sixth floors are distinguished by an unusual giant colonnaded screen made up of paired fluted Tuscan columns in antis, a plain frieze, and a prominent mutulated cornice. The parapet is adorned with a figure of Neptune flanked by Tritons, and there is a set-back attic storey. The central entrance features a round-headed arch that breaks into the first floor, with rusticated voussoirs and a triple keystone, leading to internal steps up to a recessed doorway. Above this entrance is a stone balcony and a pedimented architrave above the central second-floor window. The remaining windows have plain surrounds and margin panes for centrally-hinged casement openings, with tiered windows behind the colonnade and lunettes in the attic. The right side of the building is adjacent to Nos 84-86, while the left side is next to No. 98. The interior has not been inspected.