Appleby Lodge

Appleby Lodge is a flats complex built between 1936 and 1939 on Wilmslow Road. It was designed by Gunton and Gunton in association with Peter Cummings F.R.I.B.A. The building is constructed in red brick laid in English bond with a textured finish, and features steel-framed windows and balcony doors beneath a flat roof behind a brick parapet. The complex comprises three ranges of three storeys arranged in a 'U' shape around a central courtyard, served by a perambulatory driveway. The style is moderne.

The north range contains flats 1 to 6 and 7 to 21. Its rounded end to Wilmslow Road features steel-framed windows in groups of four with top and side hung lights, with doors opening onto two curved cantilevered concrete balconies with steel railings. Facing the courtyard, two entrances are flanked by windows in groups of one, two and three. Advanced enclosed entrance porches sit beneath projecting flat roofs with glass paired doors flanked by rounded tall lights with over-lights and mosaic-tiled plinths. Behind each porch, recessed stair towers with curved brick returns contain multi-pane full-height windows. At the first and second floors, the range features two long cantilevered concrete balconies, two similar balconies in a recessed bay, and two short cantilevered balconies to the end bay. A flat, stepped cornice with a shallow flat roof tops the second-floor balconies. The rear elevations are plainer, with similar windows in groups of two, three and four. Some cantilevered balconies are present, along with slightly advanced chimneybreasts with wide stacks and a painted flat cornice below the parapet.

The south range, containing flats 28 to 42 and 22 to 27, mirrors the north range in reverse.

The east range, containing flats 43 to 57, 58 to 72, 73 to 84 and 85 to 99, is configured in a 'U' shape. Each side wing has a centrally placed entrance detailed as described above, flanked by windows in groups of four, and two sets of cantilevered balconies at the first and second floors. Corner entrances at both corners feature entrance porches detailed as above and positioned on angle, with a blank wall above. Return elevations of the side wings have two single lights to each floor, flanked by advanced chimneybreasts with wide stacks. The end range forming the base of the 'U' has a central section of five window bays, slightly advanced, with continuous cantilevered balconies to the first and second floors and a shallow flat roof at cornice level. All windows are in groups of four as detailed above, with doors at the balconies. Two window bays flank each side of the balcony section. A continuous flat stepped cornice runs across. Rear elevations are plainer, with windows as described, some cantilevered balconies and a painted flat cornice below the parapet.

The entrance halls and stairwells are finished in Terrazzo marble with built-in Terrazzo planters. Steel balusters and brass handrails run to the stairs. Hardwood doors to the flats are original, with adjacent cupboards for delivery and waste collection. Many flats retain their original plan and fittings, including cast iron radiators, wood fireplaces with marble insets, doors with brass furniture, and fitted cupboards to kitchen and utility areas. The penthouse flats include folding partitions between the living and dining rooms.

A subsidiary entrance is marked by a pair of low circular-plan brick piers with integral planters, attached to a low brick boundary wall with concrete coping.

The complex was completed in 1939 with 100 apartments of four types: studio, one bedroom, two bedroom, and two bedroom with two bathrooms. It was built for well-heeled Mancunians. Well-known residents have included John Barbarelli, who is honoured in a Manchester Civic Society plaque from 2002. Sunken tennis courts once occupied the rear of the internal courtyard, now used as a garden.