Arkholme

Arkholme, on Towncroft Avenue, is a photographic studio designed by the renowned architect Edgar Wood and built in 1901, later adapted as a house in 1905. It is constructed of brick and reinforced concrete with tiled roofs, stone cappings to parapet and chimneys, and weather-boarded bay windows.

The building comprises an east-west rectangular range with a projecting wing to the north and two to the south. The north elevation, facing the street, displays two storeys and three bays of brickwork beneath a steeply pitched tiled roof. The entrance bay projects to the left with a flat reinforced concrete roof. A stone-capped parapet, raised slightly at the centre, is decorated with a pair of diaper crosses. The main entrance has a boarded door with four-light panes above, sheltered by a large wooden canopy with diagonal struts and a simple wrought iron stay. To the left is a small casement window with a simple red brick arch; above it at first floor is a four-light casement. A large ten-light casement at ground level lights the main studio, which relied on natural north light, and above this are two three-light casements set immediately under the eaves. All windows are flush with the walls and feature leaded glass. A single-storey garage, a 1950s addition, is attached to the right.

The south elevation is formed by a full-width flat-roofed extension with a stone-capped parapet. It has two storeys and two bays with a large ground-floor canted bay and a smaller similar bay to the right. At first floor, a six-light oriel window and a three-light casement are flush with the walls. Traces of an original, now blocked, first-floor casement are visible. Most windows on this side are 1950s insertions, intended to give southerly aspect. A single-storey flat-roofed service range projects from the right with an original doorway, now blocked, and two inserted doorways. A small terrace attached to the south elevation is defined by low brick walls with brick pillars and stone cappings flanking circular steps formed of paving slabs.

The east elevation is angular, with a steeply pinched central gable and flat-roofed extensions to either side. Scattered leaded fenestration includes a stair window and a double-height canted bay window with Art Nouveau motifs. The west elevation is also angular, with a pitched roof to the left and flat roof to the right with a central chimney stack. A large external chimney obscures most original fenestration on this side.

The interior walls are mainly finished in green distemper with cream ceilings, believed to be original photographic studio décor. Immediately to the left of the entrance lobby is a small cloakroom containing an original toilet and cistern. The entrance hall, once the waiting area, retains its form and now has full-height lincrusta panelling. The main studio is accessed through large double doors to the right, with a stair rising in the corner of the waiting area and also decorated with lincrusta panels. The studio features a central fireplace in Sicilian black marble with an alcove to the right and a blocked alcove to the left containing a later cupboard. The present dining room has a simple plaster briar ceiling rose and modern fireplace. The kitchen and scullery, in a single-storey rear range, retain original wooden cupboards with glass doors, probably used for holding photographic chemicals. Below, accessed from the understairs cupboard, is a heated cellar believed to have been the original dark room.

The first floor contains four main rooms accessed from a central narrow corridor with a partially coved ceiling. In the 1920s these were arranged as two bedrooms, a maid's room and a dressing room. The smaller rooms retain original corner fireplaces and coved ceilings. A lavatory, documented as added around 1920, has a wooden cistern and contemporary sanitary ware.

Originally called The Studio, this building was constructed in 1901 as a photographic studio for the Jackson photographic business. It was designed by Edgar Wood (1860–1935), a nationally renowned architect, and represents his first overtly modern design and the first of his buildings to employ flat reinforced concrete roofs. Born and educated in Middleton, Rochdale, Wood qualified as an architect in 1885 and established practices in Middleton, then Oldham and Manchester. The studio exemplifies his pioneer modernism phase, in which he experimented with austere façades and reinforced concrete; some buildings from this period are considered examples of very early Modern architecture. Over his career, Wood designed many highly regarded structures, including the Grade II listed Long Street Methodist Church, Middleton (1899), the Grade I listed First Church of Christ Scientist, Manchester (1903–7), the Grade II listed Halecroft (1890) and the Grade II* listed Durnford Street Infant's School.

In 1905, The Studio became the home of Charles Jackson. From the 1920s until 2007 it was occupied by the Taylor Family, who made few alterations. Limited decorative refurbishment occurred in the 1920s, including electrical system modernisation throughout, addition of lincrusta panelling in the hall and stairs, and a new first-floor lavatory. A small lean-to building was demolished around 1930 and a new garage erected. In the 1950s, the south elevation fenestration was altered by the addition of two ground-floor bay windows, blocking of a first-floor casement, and insertion of an oriel window. A new projecting external chimney stack was also constructed for a central heating fireplace in what had become the dining room.

The building is designated as a Grade II listed structure. It represents a transitional and early example of modernism by celebrated architect Edgar Wood, anticipating his later more developed work. It displays high architectural interest in its form and materials, retains virtually intact original interior and plan, and demonstrates innovation in construction through its early use of reinforced concrete flat roofs. Relatively intact examples of photographic studios are uncommon, and this is a particularly interesting specimen. The building has group value with four adjacent houses also designed by Edgar Wood, all of which are listed Grade II.