Electricity Junction Box in Castlefield canal basin, Manchester

Electricity junction box, early C20, manufactured by Hardy and Padmore of Worcester, for Manchester City Council.

MATERIALS: cast iron.

DESCRIPTION: standing in the Castlefield Conservation Area, close to the listed former Congregational chapel and to two other examples of this type, on Castle Street and on the north bank of the basin.

The longer sides of the box face north-east and south-west. It has a low pyramidal cap with castellated edges above a moulded cornice, supported at each corner by an inward-scrolled corbel. Each of the two longer sides is a door with a moulded surround, two decorative strap hinges at the right-hand side, and a Jacobean-style geometric strapwork relief surrounding a detachable plaque featuring the crest of the City of Manchester. The two short sides are plain with moulded edges. They each have a circular relief reading ‘Hardy & Padmore Limited, Worcester’ and the north-west side has a raised banner at the base with the registered design number. This side is largely obscured by the wall against which the box stands. The box is painted, black.