Britannia Hotel

MANCHESTER

SJ8498SW PORTLAND STREET 698-1/28/300 (South East side) 25/02/52 Nos.35 TO 47 (Odd) Britannia Hotel (Formerly Listed as: PORTLAND STREET (South East side) Nos.35 TO 47 (Odd) Britannia House)

GV II*

Formerly known as Watts Warehouse. General warehouse, the largest and most grandiose of all Manchester warehouses; now hotel. 1851-6, by Travis and Mangnall. Sandstone ashlar (roof not visible). Large rectangular plan parallel to street. Eclectic palazzo style. Five storeys with basement and roof pavilions, 23 bays, symmetrical; with granite base to massive chamfered plinth, channelled rustication to ground, 1st and 2nd floors, fluted corner pilasters to each upper floor, cornices over 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors (that over 3rd floor dentilled), and 4 large lateral rectangular pavilions symmetrically placed (at the ends and flanking a 7-bay centre). The openings are treated in a different style on each floor, and all the windows are recessed: those at ground floor round-headed with stepped voussoirs and keystones enriched alternately with herms and ship-prows, except for coupled doorways in the 7th and 8th, and 16th and 17th bays which have round-headed arches on coupled columns, mask keystones and internal steps; those at 1st floor square-headed, with balustrades and Elizabethan-style enrichment including carved swan-neck pediments with urn finials; those at 2nd floor square but with colonette-in-antis screens; those at 3rd floor taller and round-headed, with imposts and keystones; and those at 4th floor set in continuous colonnades of short square columns with carved caps. In addition, each pavilion has panelled pilasters, cornice, parapet (formerly with shaped gables) and 2 large Gothic wheel-windows. Seven-bay returned ends in matching style, the pavilions with wheel windows in 5 bays, strap-work in the outer bays, and balustraded parapets. Interior: internal porch of left-hand entrance contains fine war memorial of c.1920, with bronze sculptural group and inscribed tablet; entrance hall has spectacular open staircase of cast-iron with flying lateral flights at each floor in the form of a succession of "Ponte Rialtos".

Listing NGR: SJ8433698041

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 30 January 2017.