- Bridgewater House, Runcorn
Infobox building
building_name = Bridgewater House
native_building_name=
former_names =
caption = Bridgewater House in 2004
map_type =
building_type =
architectural_style = Georgian
structural_system =
cost =
location =Runcorn ,Cheshire , England
address = Old Coach Road
client = Duke of Bridgewater
owner = Bridgewater Property Management
current_tenants =
landlord =
coordinates = coord|53.3430|-2.74600|type:landmark_scale:2000_region:GB
start_date =
completion_date = 1760s
inauguration_date =
demolition_date =
destruction_date =
height =
diameter =
other_dimensions =
floor_count =
floor_area =
main_contractor =
architect =
structural_engineer =
services_engineer =
civil_engineer =
other_designers =
quantity_surveyor =
awards =
references =Bridgewater House, Runcorn is in the Old Coach Road,
Runcorn ,Cheshire , England (gbmapping|SJ504832). It is a Grade IIlisted building .cite web |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=1&id=56039 |title=Images of England: Bridgewater House, Runcorn |accessdate=2008-08-22 |publisher=English Heritage ] Originally built for the use of the Duke of Bridgewater, it has since has been used for various purposes and has now been converted into offices.History
Bridgewater House was built in the early 1760s [There is doubt about the actual date of building. Images of England says "circa 1760" but this implies too early a date because
James Brindley did not visit Runcorn until December 1761 (Starkey, 125) and the Bridgewater Canal Extension Act was not passed until 1762 (Starkey, 126). The "early 1760s" is as accurate as can be determined on the evidence currently available.] near the lower end of a line of ten locks leading from the Runcorn basin of theBridgewater Canal to theRiver Mersey . It was the occasional residence of the Duke of Bridgewater when he was supervising the building and operation of the Runcorn branch of the canal. [Starkey, p. 128.] The canal was opened to the Mersey in 1773 and completed throughout its length in 1776. [Starkey, p. 126.] After the Duke's death in 1803 the house was used as offices by the Bridgewater Trustees, and from 1872 by the Bridgewater Navigation Company. In 1887 the assets of this company, including the house, were bought by theManchester Ship Canal Company, who used it mainly for the purpose of entertaining. At the outbreak of the Second World War, part of the house was taken over by the Balloon Section of theRoyal Air Force . In 1943 the whole house was requisitioned by theAir Ministry . After the war the house returned to the ownership of the Manchester Ship Canal Company and its future became uncertain. In 1998 a fire damaged the roof and many of the rooms.cite web |url= http://www.bridgewaterproperties.co.uk/history_of_bridgewater_house.htm|title= The History of Bridgewater House |accessdate=2008-08-22 |publisher= Bridgewater Property Management ]Architecture
The house is built in brown brick with a slate roof and stone dressings in Georgian style. Its consists of 2½ storeys with a basement. The entrance front has five bays and the canal front seven bays. Steps lead up to the entrance which has a stone Doric doorcase and the entrance front is rusticated up to the ground floor level. There are stone bands at the first and second sill levels and at the top is a stone
cornice with a brickparapet . The roof is hipped. Pevsner described the house as being "imposing". [cite book | last =Pevsner | first =Nikolaus | authorlink =Nikolaus Pevsner | coauthors =Edward Hubbard | title =The Buildings of England: Cheshire |edition= | publisher =Yale University Press | date =2003| origyear=1971| location =New Haven & London| pages = 327 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn =0 300 095880 ]Present use
The house has been repaired and restored and is now owned by Bridgewater Property Management. This company uses it partly for its own purposes and leases the rest of the building as offices for other companies. [cite web |url= http://www.bridgewaterproperties.co.uk/office_space.htm |title= Office Space |accessdate=2008-08-22 |publisher= Bridgewater Property Management ]
References
Notes
Bibliography
*cite book | last =Starkey | first =H.F. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =Old Runcorn | publisher =Halton Borough Council | date =1990 | location =Halton | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn =
External links
* [http://www.bridgewaterproperties.co.uk/photos.htm Photographs of the house, the offices and its surroundings]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.