Matthew Steele

Architecture. History. Manchester.

[manchester modernist @modernistsoc]

The demise of the MMU Library at All Saints.

[the modernist® @modernistmag]

New exhibition. Coming soon!
TALKIN’BOUT 1976!
50 years since year zero for UK Punk & the Manchester connection...

Exhibition designed and curated by Craig Johnson.

12th June - 25th July 2026
at the modernist
58 Port Street, Manchester M1 2EQ
https://t.co/83FSRgGJbT

[C20 Society @C20Society]

NEWS: The Grade II listed Coventry Central Baths (1962-66), once described as ‘one of the finest swimming pools in the world’, is to be demolished by Coventry City Council after Steve Reed MP - Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government - formally approved the bulldozing of the building.

The Olympic-sized pool and adjoining leisure centre on Fairfax Street has sat empty since it was shut in February 2020 to save money. In his letter to the Council, dated 21 May, Reed explained Listed Building Consent has been granted, subject to work being carried out within three years, and archaeological investigations.

C20 Society and the Coventry Society strongly objected to the Council’s plans, arguing that there was insufficient justification for total demolition, that proposals to adaptively reuse the building had not been meaningfully explored, and the lack of any viable use - civic or otherwise - assigned to the site following demolition. The Society had requested application be referred to the Secretary of State for determination, as per section 5(b) of the Arrangements for Handling Heritage Applications. Historic England did not object to the proposals.

The Coventry Baths site had been marketed by the Council since February 2021 via agents Avison Young, on a leasehold basis and for the buildings in part or whole. Documents reveal the site was viewed by seven interested parties during that period, with two formal bids received - one for an artisanal food hall and conferencing space, and one for padel tennis.

The Council classified both bids as ‘unviable’ after ‘more detailed due diligence on refurbishment costs by the prospective purchaser/tenant’, however there was no indication of what the Council was willing to invest to help reactivate the publicly owned buildings. Given the the quoted annual costs of £400,000 for holding, security, and maintenance of the vacant buildings, tax-payers may well ask if demolition to create ‘an area of hard standing’ represents the best possible outcome.

Designed in 1956 by Coventry City Architect's Department, Coventry Baths is in a highly sensitive city centre location; adjacent the Grade I listed Cathedral of St Michael (1956-62), and within the Hill Top and Cathedral Conservation Area. The adjoining dry-sports Elephant building (1977) is to be retained and detached from the Baths; both were highlighted on C20’s Risk List in 2017.

Given the undoubted challenges presented by the current condition of the Baths and there being no prospect of aquatic activities returning, The Society would have welcomed a pragmatic approach to retain the radical W-shaped roof structure - described at its opening as “like a great garden-pavilion roof afloat above glass walls” - while creating a space for bold new uses beneath. What an opportunity missed to showcase a radical yet respectful reinvention of the city’s post-war heritage. Now, nothing but the later Elephant will survive.

➡️https://t.co/eWZdGkmUmP

[C20 Society @C20Society]

NEWS: Two more William Mitchell murals in South London have been restored following a campaign led by local residents, support from C20 Society, and crucial funding and project management from @HOLTofLondon and the Pilgrim Trust. 🧵

➡️https://t.co/AMTXlfozO4

[Samira Ahmed @SamiraAhmedUK]

Why do such landmarks in the North not get heritage listing? @C20Society is right to champion Shipley's "fabulous" 1961 clocktower..(as reported in @ArchitectsJrnal)

[C20 Society @C20Society]

Bad News Friday (sorry): C20 is disappointed to learn that Shipley Clock Tower has been turned-down for listing by DCMS.

Designed in 1960-61 as part of a redevelopment of Shipley town centre by the Arndale Property Trust, the freestanding 6 storey tower is in a late ‘Festival of Britain’ style and is a proud local landmark, overlooking the recently revamped Market Square.

Four post-war clock towers in England are currently listed (all at Grade II) and all are in the South East or the Midlands, in part due to their popularity as civic gestures in the first wave of New Towns, few of which were developed beyond the green belt around London. With Shipley being a rare exception, the Society felt listing the tower would help address this regional imbalance, while recognising the buildings historic interest as part of an important early redevelopment by the Arndale Property Trust. We submitted an application back in Jan 2024.

However, Historic England declined to recommend the tower for listing, their report concluding: “the freestanding clock tower is of some interest as a local landmark, possessing a degree of civic aspiration and pride in the newly rebuilt market area, but it lacks the quality of design and materials of other listed post-war clock towers.”

[Matthew Steele @matthewgsteele]

@C20Society "... it lacks the quality of design and materials of other listed post-war clock towers" - subjective twaddle would be my judgement!

[Eamonn Canniffe @eamonncanniffe]

Clearly the security of the former UMIST campus isn’t what it needs to be

[Matthew Steele @matthewgsteele]

https://t.co/tNGtwDKfnc

[manchester modernist @modernistsoc]

the modernist
Desmond Williams OBE -7/7/32 - 31/01/26
https://t.co/srK7gE5fdY

[Robert Lister @robertlister73]

For all the focus on sustainability, re-use, retrofit, etc in the construction industry, it is absolutely pathetic that the 1998 National Glass Centre in Sunderland seemingly can’t (read won’t) be saved.

[Historic England @HistoricEngland]

An interesting space for a PE lesson. 🎾

Built in 1977, this domed sports hall sits within the grounds of Malvern St James School, Worcestershire.

The building was created using an odd method: a large rubber membrane was inflated, and concrete was poured over to form the dome.

[UofG Arts & Humanities @UofGArtsHums]

Discover the story of the Kelvin Wheelies skatepark - and uncover its remains in Kelvingrove Park - with @urbanprehisto on the latest episode of our Stories From Glasgow podcast 🛹

Available now online and wherever you get your podcasts 🎧

Listen 👉
https://t.co/XvvSUFttfD

[Matthew Steele @matthewgsteele]

🤗 https://t.co/zIJ7FoKWXd

[K E V yoliverpool @YOLiverpool]

RIP Woolton Hall, such a devastating loss for #Liverpool ❤️. I was extremely fortunate to have explored it a few years ago 😞. #woolton #hall

[C20 Society @C20Society]

NEWS: New York, Brasilia, Manchester?

We're delighted to announce that the Renold Building at the former University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) has been listed at Grade II, as the rest of the significant post-war campus is facing large-scale redevlopment.

The designation comes 20 years after the first listing application by C20 Society in 2005, and follows extensive new research by Dr Richard Brook and the late Elain Harwood (1/3)

[Eamonn Canniffe @eamonncanniffe]

An ‘academy hang’ of Manchester Modernism at The Modernist Shop - everything from lovely flat Beaux-Arts watercolours to the ‘Crayon -Do Not Rub’ style. ‘The Perspectivists’ catalogue available for a reassuringly modest fee. Thanks Richard.

[Matthew Steele @matthewgsteele]

https://t.co/NVUzWGMpIM

[manchester modernist @modernistsoc]

The Hotspur Press Fire: A Wake-Up Call for Manchester's Heritage

Could the Toast Rack be next?
https://t.co/aCretSmJrB

[manchester modernist @modernistsoc]

Liverpool might have it's Metropolitan Cathedral but Rochdale has the chapel at Hopwood Hall. Also designed by Frederick Gibberd.

Historic England upgraded the Cathedral's listing to Grade l this week and the listing of Hopwood Hall Chapel was also enhanced.