Haider Medical Centre, Stockport

History

A GP surgery opened in April 1974 and closed in January 2018.

Esoteric Eric

Co-Op, Hull

History

The Co-op Mosaic is a mural in Kingston upon Hull, England, by the artist Alan Boyson. Commissioned by the Hull and East Riding Co-operative Society, for the exterior of the side of their new store at 32-38 Jameson Street, it was erected in 1963. Depicting three stylised trawlers, it commemorates Hull's fishing fleet.

The mural is made from 4,224 panels, each 1 foot (30 cm) square and made in turn from 225 cubes of Italian glass - over one million in all. The panels are fixed to a curved, 66 by 64 feet (20 by 20 m), concrete wall.

The mural was built to Boyson's design, by Richards Tiles Ltd (subsequently part of Johnsons Tiles Ltd).

Included in the mural is the Latin text res per industriam prosperae ("the success of industry"). It also includes the letters "H U L L" in the ships' masts. These appear fortuitously and not through deliberate design.

After the Co-operative Society vacated the building, it was for a time a branch of BHS.

In May 2007 the mural was locally listed by Hull City Council, who described it was a "superb example of modern public art". The council subsequently pledged to retain the mural when the site is developed. In November 2016, a proposal by Hull Civic Society to give the mural statutory protection at a national level was rejected. The society announced its intention to appeal the decision. The mural was placed on the National Heritage List for England on 21 November 2019 at Grade II.

An additional mural by Boyson, inside the store on the fourth floor, was rediscovered during refurbishment in 2011. Depicting a shoal of fish, it is over 22 feet (6.7 m) long and is made from ceramic tiles, marble and stone. Located outside the former Skyline Ballroom (later Romeo and Juliet's, a nightclub), it had been hidden behind a false wall. The building's then owners, Manor Property Group, announced plans to feature it in their designs for the building's decor. It was made as part of the same commission as the exterior mural.

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-op_Mosaic

Esoteric Eric

Carlton Theatre, Hull

History

Opened on 9th September 1928 with the silent film “Lonesome Ladies”. The Carlton Picture Theatre in Anlaby Road was designed by the firm of Blackmore & Sykes and was built by Messrs. Greenwood and Sons. It was run by Hull Picture Playhouse Ltd.

This was a lavish suburban cinema, with an elaborate green and gold sliding dome utilising Venetian glass and housing hundreds of concealed lights. Roman marble mosaics and painted plaster panels on the walls added to the sense of occasion engendered by a trip to the flicks. A Fitton & Haley organ was installed, but this was later removed to the more central Cecil Theatre and was destroyed when that theatre was bombed during WW II.

The cinema had two entrances, one in each of the two towers on the front corners of the building. Above the proscenium was the inscription (rather inapt given how soon “talkies” arrived) “A Picture is a poem without words”. There was a single balcony and, for its date, a surprisingly large car park.

It continued unaltered (save for minor war damage) until its closure in April 1967, after which it was simply converted to bingo usage which continued as a Mecca Bingo Club until 2008.

Source:

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/6216

Esoteric Eric

Queens Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent

History

The Queen's Theatre (originally Queen's Hall) is a theatre building in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England. It is situated in Wedgwood Place in the town centre.

It is a Grade II listed building, listed on 19 April 1972.

It was commissioned as Burslem's town hall, to replace the town hall built in the 1850s, and was built by the architects Russell and Cooper. Completed in 1911, after the Federation of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910 made its original purpose obsolete, the building was opened as the Queen's Theatre, a venue for drama, concerts and other entertainments.

Requiring repairs, the theatre closed in 1998. From 2003 events occasionally took place; it closed again in 2014.

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen%27s_Theatre,_Burslem

Esoteric Eric