3413 x 5120 px | 28,9 x 43,3 cm | 11,4 x 17,1 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
13 novembre 2014
Lieu:
Manchester, UK
Informations supplémentaires:
Welcome to Mr Thomas’s Chop House – described by The New York Times as “probably Manchester’s most venerable pub” and intended by us to be definitely Manchester’s most welcoming pub. This site on Cross Street was originally occupied by a Georgian Town House, hence its long, slim shape. Mr Thomas Studd, who also gave his name to the premises, first opened it as a public house and restaurant in 1870. Like the coffee house, the alehouse, the boarding house and others, the chophouse is a British institution dating back to the origins of modern commercial trading in the sixteenth century. Chop house were originally places where businessmen dined and conducted their affairs over hearty plates of traditionally cooked meats, frequently grilled and washed down with fine wines or well-kept local beers. The architect Robert Walker was commissioned to rebuild and extend the original premises and this version of Mr Thomas’s was completed in 1901. (If you look back towards the bar, Cross Street originally extended as far as the arched doorway leading to the front bar!) It is a cast iron frame building – one of the first in Manchester. The exterior walls are a superb mixture of decorative terracotta blocks and Accrington brick. The terracotta was hand cast and delivered to the site hollow. It was then filled with concrete for extra strength and fabricated over the frame on site. The building was given Grade II listed status by English heritage for its architectural merit and historical importance in the city. The interior remains almost completely original. The arches and Victorian tiling are Mr Thomas’s principal distinguishing features. These have been recently cleaned and restored to reveal the beauty and skill of the original craftsmanship. The intense green lustre of the darker arch tiles is something rarely seen in more modern work. Since Thomas Studd there have been 29 further innkeepers.
