It has endured Covid, several recessions and being bombed during the Manchester Blitz. But campaigners fear Barton Arcade may not get through its latest challenge.
The 150-year-old Grade II*-listed building is the city’s only surviving example of the type of steel-framed, glass-covered Victorian shopping arcade that was once popular across northern town and cities.
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Campaigners fear that without much-needed maintenance and repairs its future hangs in the balance. Of particular concern is the magnificent 53ft tall steel and glass roof, which is thought to have long been in dire need of refurbishment.
Remarkably it’s said damage caused by the 1996 IRA bomb is still waiting to be repaired. Several glass panes are said to be cracked and broken, while from the outside the roof’s steel frame is visibly rusting with paint flaking off.
Inside, scaffolding nets are strung across the parts of the ceiling to protect against the risk of falling glass. The state of Barton Arcade has long been a concern to the Manchester Victorian Society.
(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
The building was discussed at conservation group’s meeting on Monday night, where it was agreed a request would be made to Manchester council to issue an urgent works notice, a legal order requiring the owner to carry out essential repairs.
“It is one of Manchester’s jewels,” said Victorian Society spokesperson Ken Moth. “It really needs action, and not just tinkering around the edges, it needs a complete refurbishment.”
As the city’s last covered Victorian shopping arcade, Mr Morth said Barton Arcade is an ‘important building’.
“Covered shopping arcades were once quite common in northern towns and cities,” he said. “Manchester had a few and now we are down to the last one.
“But it’s basically being neglected. You should keep the gutters clean, you should keep the iron painted so it doesn’t corrode, if a window breaks it should be replaced, but the glazing is curved, so you can’t just go and buy a sheet of glass from B&Q. But that’s not been done for a number of years, so it’s in a poor state.”
The arcade’s intricate steel and glass roof is of particular concern(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
Named after the developer John Barton, the arcade was built in 1871 by the firm Corbett, Raby & Sawyer. Its prefabricated steel frame was cast in Glasgow, before being transported south and erected.
Among its earliest and best-known tenants was Stephenson’s Glass & Chinaware, which remained a fixture of the arcade for nearly 100 years. In the 1880s, a phrenologist, practising the art of reading skull shapes, also set up shop there.
During the Manchester Blitz in August and September 1940 the glass dome was damaged, while a series of modifications in the 1970s meant some of its original features were lost. But some its architectural grandeur was revived, including. its signature ironwork, galleries, and glass roofing, ahead of grand reopening hosted in 1990 by actress and activist Joanna Lumley.
Today, the arcade’s occupancy rates remain fairly high, with just two units on the ground floor appearing to be vacant. However it’s a different picture on the upper three floors, which are understood to be disused.
A three-bed apartment on the top floor, which was once among most expensive rental properties in the city, is also thought to be empty. It’s understood a leak from the flat a number of years led to water damage on the floors below and caused the closure of an office that once housed around 200 workers.
Barton Arcade pictured in 1890
But speaking this week, one former Barton Arcade business owner said he had some sympathies with the building owners.
“The roof has always needed something doing to it, but it’s very expensive and it’s tied up in listed building consent,” he said. “I imagine they’ve looked at it and said it’s just not commercially viable.
“It certainly didn’t feel like they were deliberately neglecting it. We had surveyors and people from Singapore come round to look at it
“We saw plans turn it into a hotel. At point that looked like it was going to happen and then it didn’t.
“It’s a beautiful building, but it obviously needs work doing to it. I don’t know what thew future is for it, but it’s probably a combination of commercial ownership and public support.”
Land Registry records show Barton Arcade is owned by Singapore-based investment group Vt Manchester Barton Pte. Ltd, which paid £18.25M for it in July 2018. According to its website the firm’s parent company the VT Group also owns the Grade II-listed Eagle Insurance building on the corner of King Street and Cross Street, plus several other properties in Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and elsewhere.
The Manchester Evening News has attempted to contact the Vt Group and its UK representative, both via its Singapore offices and its UK address, which appears to be a detached house on a suburban street in Harrow, Essex.
City centre spokesperson Pat Karney said the council would be writing to the owners to enquire about their plans for the building. He added: “Barton Arcade is one of the jewels in Manchester’s crown.
“It’s part of our history, so we are not going to lose it. We will make sure all future generations can enjoy it as we have.”