Fourways House

This is a packing warehouse, later converted to offices, dating to 1906, with minor alterations in the late 20th century. Designed by James William Beaumont, an architect based in Manchester, the building is located on Tariff Street, and also known as 57 Hilton Street and 17 China Lane. It is a red brick structure on a low stone plinth, featuring ashlar sandstone dressings and moulded brick detailing, with a Welsh slate roof. The building has a rectangular plan, incorporating a centrally-placed, narrow, rectangular courtyard/light well that provides light from the east and west streets.

The north front, facing Tariff Street, is symmetrical with eight bays, rising six storeys above a basement. Main entrances are located in bays 2 and 7, approached by stepped pathways leading to altered double doorways within ashlar surrounds. An ashlar cill band runs along the first and sixth floors. The ground floor features shop front windows with metal lintel beams and deep stall risers. Above these are coupled sash windows without glazing bars on all floors; most are flat-headed, except on the top floor where they have semicircular arched heads below a shallow parapet. Bays 2 and 7 have triple windows, with a large central opening flanked by narrower windows and lower lintels than are found in the other six bays. The heads of these bays step up above the parapet, culminating in a wide, banded, semi-circular arch above the upper floor windows. An angled corner returns onto Hilton Street, including a late 20th-century canopy over a single ground floor doorway. Stacked single-light openings extend to the fifth floor, those above the first floor featuring a widened, chamfered frontage supported by shallow side corbels.

The west side elevation is asymmetrical, featuring a wide, centrally-placed vehicular entrance beneath a flat metal lintel beam. Windows are arranged in couples and triples, with an entrance in bay 7. A raised parapet features a wide arch over the window heads. The remaining elevations reflect various details found on the front and side facades.

The interior features load-bearing external walls supporting an internal frame of cast iron columns and metal cross beams. Original service lifts for goods and passengers remain, along with original staircases. The attic storey has an exposed roof structure, and the internal courtyard uses glazed brickwork to maximize light.

This is a relatively unaltered and prominently sited example of a distinctive Manchester commercial building type, designed by a notable Manchester architect. It contributes to a significant commercial quarter and forms a group with the adjacent canal warehouse and other packing warehouses.