5025 x 3363 px | 42,5 x 28,5 cm | 16,8 x 11,2 inches | 300dpi
Aufnahmedatum:
10. März 2008
Weitere Informationen:
Manchester Town Hall is a building in Manchester, England that houses Manchester City Council. Completed by architect Alfred Waterhouse in 1877, it is a fine example of Victorian Gothic revival, featuring imposing murals by Ford Madox Brown. As filming is forbidden in the Palace of Westminster, Manchester Town Hall is frequently used as its "body double" in British political dramatisations. The site chosen for a new town hall was an oddly shaped triangle and, of the 136 entries in open competition for the design, Waterhouse's exploited the constraints in the most practical and imaginative way. Despite its medieval styling, the building was designed to support the practical bureaucratic technologies of the 19th century. There was even a warm-air heating system. The building exemplifies the Victorian Gothic revival style of architecture, using themes and elements from 13th-century Early English. The choice was influenced by the wish for a spiritual acknowledgement to Manchester's heritage in the textile trade of the Hanseatic league and also an affirmation of modernity, the fashionable gothic style being preferred over the classical architecture favoured in neighbouring Liverpool. The exterior, of spinkwell stone, is decorated with carvings of important figures in Manchester's history. The interior is made of multi-coloured terracotta by Gibbs and Canning Limited. The painted ceilings were provided by Best & Lea of Manchester, who had also provided the ceilings in the Natural History Museum in London, also designed by Alfred Waterhouse. Construction started in 1868, at a cost of GBP one million, comprising fourteen million bricks. The new building had been championed by radical mayor Abel Heywood and his notoriety entailed Queen Victoria's refusal to attend the opening.
