44-50, Portland Street

44-50 Portland Street is a group of buildings in Manchester that were likely constructed around 1850-1860 and have been altered over time. Originally home trade warehouses, they now house a café, a betting shop, and offices. The buildings are made of red brick in Flemish bond, with sandstone dressings and a slate roof, arranged in a rectangular plan that runs at right angles to the street.

The design follows a simplified palazzo style and consists of five storeys above a basement, featuring a symmetrical six-window facade. The ground floor has a vermiculated plinth and pilasters, topped with a cornice. Sill bands run along all upper floors, and there is a moulded cornice with a blocking course at the top.

There are round-headed doorways on the left and right sides, which include set-in shafts, enriched lintels, moulded heads with keystones, divided panelled doors, and cornices supported by consoles. The windows above the altered basement openings in the intermediate bays are segmental-headed on the first and third floors, with the first-floor windows above the doors featuring moulded stone architraves and cornices. The third-floor windows have stone surrounds. The second and fourth floors have square-headed windows, with the second-floor windows having set-in stone surrounds and the fourth-floor windows featuring set-in stone shoulders. All windows are sashed without glazing bars.

The rear and interior of the buildings were not inspected. This group of buildings forms a cohesive architectural ensemble with Nos. 52 and 54 to the left and No. 36 Charlotte Street (Fraser House) to the right.