Uttley House

Uttley House (formerly named The Firs), is a Grade II listed building and Halls of residence in Fallowfield, Manchester, England. It was designed and built in 1850 by Edward Walters, who was also responsible for Manchester’s Free Trade Hall. The building is named after English writer Alison Uttley. It was originally built for Sir Joseph Whitworth, the house was later the home of C. P. Scott, editor of the Manchester Guardian. It is surrounded by five and a half acres of gardens to the south and an environmental research institute to the north. The house has seen many past uses, including a private home, hotel, vaccination clinic and conference centre.

Uttley House
Chcc blue sky 2
The original Firs section
Former namesThe Firs, Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre
General information
StatusGrade II
LocationFallowfield Campus
AddressChancellors Way, Fallowfield, Manchester
Coordinates53.443611°N 2.213333°W / 53.443611; -2.213333
Completed1850
OwnerUniversity of Manchester
Design and construction
Architect(s)Edward Walters

History

The Firs

Whitworth used The Firs mainly as a social, political and business base, entertaining radicals of the age such as John Bright, Richard Cobden, William Forster and T. H. Huxley at the time of the Reform Bill of 1867. Whitworth, credited with raising the art of machine-tool building to a previously unknown level, supported the new Mechanics Institute in Manchester –the birthplace of UMIST – and helped to found the Manchester School of Design. To the rear, Whitworth had a shooting range — now the site of the University's horticultural glasshouses — on which he tested his famous, but commercially unsuccessful Whitworth Rifle which featured a revolutionary hexagonally rifled barrel. The house was surrounded by a 52 acres (21 ha) estate that now makes up the current Fallowfield Campus.[1]

In 1882, having built a new house in Darley Dale, Whitworth leased The Firs to his friend C.P. Scott, editor of the Manchester Guardian.[1] After Scott's death the house became the property of the University of Manchester, and was the Vice-Chancellor's residence until 1991. The house is a Grade II listed building.[2]

Hotel

The house was converted into a hotel and re-opened as the Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre in 1997. A large extension to the Grade II building was completed for the hotel, giving it a capacity of 72 rooms. The hotel was operated by the university's events venue arm as a conference centre and featured a restaurant, bar and conference facilities.[3] Operations ceased in 2019, as the university prepared to repurpose the site as part of the university's redevelopment of the existing buildings on the campus.[4][5]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the former hotel site was used as a vaccination centre.[6]

Halls of Residence
Entrance from Chancellors Way

In 2021, as part of a redevelopment of the Fallowfield Campus, the hotel was converted into a student hall of residence and renamed Uttley House, after writer Alison Uttley.[7] The halls of residence Junior Common Room is shared with Richmond Park, another hall of residence to the north.[8]

Firs Environmental Research Station

Included in the site formerly part of The Firs is the Firs Environmental Research Station, a research institute of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.[9] During World War I, various drugs were grown and developed at the station, including Atropa belladonna and Hyoscyamus niger.[10] The facility houses an air quality monitoring station, greenhouses, climate controlled growing environments and remnants of the old botanical garden.

In 2020, as a result of a £2 million endowment, the greenhouses were substantially upgraded.[11]

See also

References
  1. History (Faculty of Life Sciences - The University of Manchester) Archived 2006-10-07 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Historic England. "The Firs and attached annex (Grade II) (1270605)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  3. "Details (The University of Manchester)". 30 May 2022. Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  4. "Contract out for Owens Park construction partner". Place North West. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  5. "Fallowfield residential development | Campus Masterplan | The University of Manchester". www.masterplan.manchester.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  6. "Wayback Machine" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  7. "Details (The University of Manchester)". www.accommodation.manchester.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  8. "Official Richmond Park & Uttley House University of Manchester 2021 | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  9. "The Firs environmental research station - Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences - The University of Manchester". www.ees.manchester.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  10. "The fascinating history - and future - of FIRS Environmental Research Station". Science and Engineering. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  11. "FIRS Environmental Research Centre gets £2m makeover". Science and Engineering. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2022.

53°26′37″N 2°12′48″W

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