British Tower Blocks

[Stefan88]

They could of been something that held the old cladding in place?

[aladdin_sane]

oh here you all are. Why does everyone keep running away from me? Is it my lisp that scares you all?

[aladdin_sane]

Originally Posted by schemie

wow! we start again! a whole new world... wheres ALADDINsane when you need him!!! oh man! im laughing at my own joke and i'll bet you no-one gets that except me... and butterfield who will return a polite smiley

[Butterfield]

Well done for finding our true home - we missed you!

[Jegzo]

I've been following this thread (in it's previous guise) for the last couple of months, I've read it all the way through and loved every bit of it but never bothered to join the forum coz I don't have a camera so can't post pics, but I'd just like to say - out of the whole of SkyscraperCity, this is the only thread that holds any interest for me, I've loved post 1960's municipal housing and tower blocks in particular since being a kid and would like to concur with everything Schemie said about why people like tower blocks.

Hopefully I'm gonna be able to borrow a camera in the next few weeks and pedal around North Manchester/Oldham/Rochdale snapping a few blocks, some of which you will have seen before, some of which you probably won't have. Anyway, cheers for the thread, many happy hours have been spent perusing the brutalism.

[aladdin_sane]

Originally Posted by Jegzo

I've been following this thread (in it's previous guise) for the last couple of months, I've read it all the way through and loved every bit of it but never bothered to join the forum coz I don't have a camera so can't post pics, but I'd just like to say - out of the whole of SkyscraperCity, this is the only thread that holds any interest for me, I've loved post 1960's municipal housing and tower blocks in particular since being a kid and would like to concur with everything Schemie said about why people like tower blocks.

Hopefully I'm gonna be able to borrow a camera in the next few weeks and pedal around North Manchester/Oldham/Rochdale snapping a few blocks, some of which you will have seen before, some of which you probably won't have. Anyway, cheers for the thread, many happy hours have been spent perusing the brutalism.

another one! YaY! hello there.

[aladdin_sane]

so anyway schemie, as I posted on another thread which no one was reading cuz they was all here innit, I found out that t'Kirkgate Apartments are each 43 metres high and have 14 floors to them.

Next I will find original photos and the year they were built. I promise! I have made it life's mission!

But here's another I found - St Michaels House which is just off Westgate in Wakefield stands at 40 metres and has 13 floors (102 flats).

[Butterfield]

Originally Posted by Jegzo

I've been following this thread (in it's previous guise) for the last couple of months, I've read it all the way through and loved every bit of it but never bothered to join the forum coz I don't have a camera so can't post pics, but I'd just like to say - out of the whole of SkyscraperCity, this is the only thread that holds any interest for me, I've loved post 1960's municipal housing and tower blocks in particular since being a kid and would like to concur with everything Schemie said about why people like tower blocks.

Hopefully I'm gonna be able to borrow a camera in the next few weeks and pedal around North Manchester/Oldham/Rochdale snapping a few blocks, some of which you will have seen before, some of which you probably won't have. Anyway, cheers for the thread, many happy hours have been spent perusing the brutalism.

Excellent stuff Jegzo - welcome to the forums!

We don't have any tower block forumers from Manchestershire (apart from maybe Stephen Robinson ) so you could prove quite useful!

Rochdale has a great line of tower blocks doesn't it? I posted a picture of them that I found some time ago but that's it. I've seen them for myself when I was up that way a few years ago and they looked great off the motorway with the Pennines behind!

Any photos from in and around Manchester would be great, I look forward to seeing any that you might post in the future.

[belfastbap]

Hi,

Like Jegzo I have been watching over the last couple of weeks. For about the last year or so I have been searching through the web to find more photos and information about 60's tower blocks and social housing in the Uk with limited success. That was untill I found the British Tower Blocks thread here and I have been hooked ever since.
I am from Belfast where tower blocks did not take off in the same way as the rest of the UK. After moving to Scotland to go to uni I quickly became fascinated by the blocks and have been visiting and taking photos ever since.

I have been working on getting photos of all of Belfast's blocks recently, but I'm not sure on how to get them up as none of them are on line. Should I join Flikr or something?

[Jegzo]

Cheers for the welcome people.

Yeah, Butterfield, the 7 sisters blocks in Rochdale - very popular with tenants, they have a concierge scheme which is, apparently, the envy of housing authority bigwigs the legnth and bredth of Europe. I'd also like to show you Falinge flats in Rochdale (not tower blocks but deck access efforts with connecting walkways-proper brutalist concrete jungle to the max). Then there's Rowntree House, Oldham - a tall red brick block that's an odd hexagonal shape, you can see Jodrell Bank from it's upper floors on a clear day (allegedly).

In Manchester there's Charlestown flats, Blackley, the last time I saw, these babies were in the process of being reclad - the work hadn't been completed and some blocks stii had the original single glaze windows and tatty exteriors, but they might be finished now. Also of interest is Queensbury Court, Miles Platting - on the face of it an average 12 storey North Manc block - there' loads dotted about, but in the earl 90's an 11th floor tenants calor gas heater exploded, blowing out a full wall. the block survived and is occupied to this day which shows they are decent design/construction.

bear with me, it'll take me a few weeks to get a camera probably, but you'll soon be feasting your eyes on these and other little muppets.

[lneylon]

You spend a few days on the lash and all of a sudden there's a new thread with new people

Hurrah

Thanks to everyone involved.

Anyway back to some more spamming.

Stalybridge. Came across this when out cycling in the Peak District. Right in the background is Oldham.

This photo must have been taken from up on the hill that I cycled up and if the photo was taken the other way you would see that Stalybridge is right on the edge of the Peak District with fantastic views.

image hosted on flickr

[Mr. B]

woooooo! 2 new guys in a day, this must be a high for the new thread. Welcome guys and I hope you enjoy yourselves, hope you will be the first of many more new comers, should be great to see what you contribute and help us with. Thanks for joining.

[lneylon]

Originally Posted by belfastbap

I am from Belfast where tower blocks did not take off in the same way as the rest of the UK. After moving to Scotland to go to uni I quickly became fascinated by the blocks and have been visiting and taking photos ever since.

I have been working on getting photos of all of Belfast's blocks recently, but I'm not sure on how to get them up as none of them are on line. Should I join Flikr or something?

Be very interested in seeing the Belfast stuff. Not sure I've seen many photos, but have seen them first hand when over there.

Joining Flikr is free and easy, though I just use my free webspace that comes with my NTL account. ...Sorry Virgin Media. C*nts.

[lneylon]

Originally Posted by Butterfield

Feel free to post that photo and info in there as this one will probably get locked eventually. Sorry about that matey!

Do you mean that we'll lose the ability to go through the old thread? There's loads of great stuff on there.

[schemie]

ummm from the start

Great pics of the Red Road. Cant get enough of that place. My dads giving me a decent camera tomorrow which he 'acquired'. he was planning on selling it for £600 at a car boot sale but not if i have anything to do with it!

Balornock does look very model like set out the way it is.. those GHA roofs dont do it any favours It looks strange though. All these low rise cottage flats and then those 26 storey monsters at 15 Croftbank Street and 250 Edgefauld Road. Theyre being refurbed next year and will be the tallest tower blocks left in Glasgow after Red Road and Gallowgate come down.

You're right stef, those hooks were there to keep the original asbestos panels in place.

Got it Alladin mate ive added the four Kirkgate Apartments and St Georges and St Michaels Houses. If anybody has any knowledge at all on any block that comes up, just say it and i'll put it on the wiki. So much great info got lost amdist the thousands of posts in the old thread so this will be a good way to catalogue everything.

Welcome to the two new forumers! Glad you enjoyed reading our thread. Thats why i signed up to this website too. Belfastbap, sign up to photobucket.com dump all your pics on there then you can link to them so they appear on here . Flickr is good but you need to pay if you want to put any more than 200 photos on which is shit. phoobucket you can put up 10,000 without paying. the only blocks ive seen in Ireland are the one that the IRA used to snipe people from and the demolished one in Ballymun that was in a demolition documentary. Where in Scotland are you doing your course? if its Glasgow i understand why you like blocks Wecome to you too Jegzo. You just joined and your already giving us info! Look forward to your pics eventually. We havent had any good Manchester shots in a long time. Probably before i started posting. One sticks in my head: those red blocks i think theyre in Greater Pendleton or Salford or what not? Big and beautiful! Im also a fan of Hulme Crescents but theyre long gone.

[aladdin_sane]

Got it Alladin mate ive added the four Kirkgate Apartments and St Georges and St Michaels Houses. If anybody has any knowledge at all on any block that comes up, just say it and i'll put it on the wiki. So much great info got lost amdist the thousands of posts in the old thread so this will be a good way to catalogue everything.

its official that the Kirkgate Apartments were built in 1969. I thought it was 67.

[schemie]

its official that the Kirkgate Apartments were built in 1969. I thought it was 67

ya bastard! oh well... back to the wiki...

Got some pics out in the sun today:

Oliphant Court, Foxbar, Paisley. Whats left of the biggest cluster of tower blocks in Renfrewshire. Wish the other 4 were still up.


Nethercraig Court and Gleniffer Court, Glenburn, Paisley. Note semi random windows:

[aladdin_sane]

[QUOTE=schemie;14411192]ya bastard! oh well... back to the wiki...

Got some pics out in the sun today:

Oliphant Court, Foxbar, Paisley. Whats left of the biggest cluster of tower blocks in Renfrewshire. Wish the other 4 were still up.

that's a mighty impressive erection you have their schemie.

and I've nabbed it for my livejournal.

[belfastbap]

Here is Belfast's first offering. These blocks are all in the south of the city and are all pretty much in the same style. They're not the most exciting blocks in the world and the areas around them are eerily quiet. At least during the day.

Benmore, Finaghy.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10352379@N05/885117172/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1424/885117172_82a064c993.jpg" width="328" height="500" alt="DSC_0016" /></a>http://www.flickr.com/photos/10352379@N05/885117384/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1033/885117384_965825c3c7.jpg" width="500" height="325" alt="DSC_0044" /></a>

Belvior Estate.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10352379@N05/885117166/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1072/885117166_fec9ebf9ca.jpg" width="500" height="326" alt="DSC_0014" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10352379@N05/885117276/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1286/885117276_6213ebd867.jpg" width="328" height="500" alt="DSC_0022" /></a>

Dunmurry (1 of 2 blocks).

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10352379@N05/885117314/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1019/885117314_2fd6b32a7c.jpg" width="500" height="325" alt="DSC_0037" /></a>

Dunmurry (2 of 3 blocks).

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10352379@N05/885117172/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1424/885117172_82a064c993.jpg" width="328" height="500" alt="DSC_0016" /></a>

[aladdin_sane]

View of Kirkgate showing Manor House on the Corner of George St and Kirkgate



view of Manor House with the scaffolding as the refurb work began. My understanding is that this was the first time this system of scaffolding was used. The system was suspended from the top of the building and then mechanically lowered up and down as required. This system was used cuz there was no proper platform to build upward from.



View of Tudor House



Warren House



and then as a reminder of what happened to them, as they are now







I would like to thank Wakefield District Housing for supplying me with the pre-refurb photos.