A Century of Memories: Exploring the Harry S Fairhurst & Son Architects Archive
Fairhurst Architects: A Century of Memories | Manchester
It was fascinating to review the family archive of Fairhurst Architects, formerly Harry S Fairhurst & Son Architects. As Harry S Fairhurst’s great grandson and an architect myself, I have a particular interest in the practice’s history and the remarkable collection of drawings, photographs and records it has left behind.
Harry S Fairhurst 1868-1945The Fairhurst Architects Archive
What makes the archive particularly compelling is its combination of professional architectural records and deeply personal material. Together, they reveal not only the buildings produced by the practice, but also the people, places, ideas and influences behind them, providing a fascinating insight into the development of Manchester architecture over the course of the twentieth century.
Among the collection are beautifully rendered watercolour and ink drawings of buildings that still form part of Manchester’s architectural character. Fairhurst’s work contributed significantly to the city’s distinctive landscape of terracotta, brick and later Portland stone warehouses, reflecting the industrial confidence of Manchester during a period of extraordinary growth.
Warehouse Whitworth Street, Manchester, HSFDraftmanship, Observation and Study
The drawings themselves are objects of considerable beauty. They demonstrate the importance of architectural hand drawing at a time when the ability to communicate a building through line, tone, colour and perspective was fundamental to the profession. They also reveal Harry S Fairhurst as a highly accomplished draftsman.
Sketch DetailHis artistic interests extended well beyond architectural commissions. The archive contains exquisite hand sketches and watercolours recording study trips and visits across Britain and Europe, including Italy, Rouen Cathedral in France and Anglesey. These drawings provide a more intimate view of an architect observing buildings, landscapes and places at first hand.
Boat Maintenance Sketch HSF 1922Manchester Landmarks
The archive also documents the wider intellectual and professional life of the practice. There are family newspaper cuttings covering architectural projects, competitions and articles, alongside material relating to some of the practice’s most significant commissions. These include the Manchester Ship Canal offices, Rylands & Sons Warehouse on Market Street, the Tootal Broadhurst Lee New Warehouse and the warehouses of Whitworth Street.
There is also a fascinating record of architectural education and research. A 1924 Part II thesis, Modern Architecture in Manchester by Philip G Fairhurst, provides an insight into how the city’s architecture was being considered by a younger generation of architects almost a century ago. Later material includes the University of Manchester’s New Medical School of 1968 and Harry M Fairhurst’s Honorary Fellowship of 1976.
Beaumaris Castle, Anglesey 1910, HSFTall Buildings and Manchester Architecture
Perhaps one of the most intriguing themes running through the archive is the question of architectural change. The debate surrounding tall buildings, for example, was already prominent in the 1920s. It is striking to see issues that feel remarkably contemporary being discussed by architects a century ago: how should a growing city accommodate development, what should its skyline become, and how should new buildings relate to the established character of the city?
Lee House, 90 Great Bridge Water Street, Original Design 1928The archive also records Fairhurst’s international outlook. A 1959 study trip to North America examining newspaper production plants was undertaken in connection with the design of the Manchester Guardian building. Similarly, material from visits to Swedish and Swiss laboratories in 1951 demonstrates the importance of international study and the exchange of architectural and technical ideas.
The Rylands Building, 109–127 Market Street, Manchester, 1929The Practice
Alongside the formal architectural record are some wonderfully human documents. A photograph of the practice office from around 1920 includes portraits of the staff alongside caricatures, giving a rare glimpse into the personalities behind the drawings and buildings. There are also photographs of the practice staff at the time of Philip G Fairhurst’s, affectionately known as Mr Gary, retirement in 1967, and records of the family home in Wilmslow, Garth.
These details make the archive much more than a collection of architectural drawings. They tell the story of a family, a practice and a city over several generations. They show how architectural knowledge was passed between generations, while also recording the changing technologies, ambitions and cultural influences that shaped the profession. Just as importantly, they remind us that behind every architectural practice are individual lives, relationships and choices that do not always follow a single path.
Ship Canal House, King Street, Manchester, HSF 1924Legacy
For me, one of the most rewarding aspects of looking through the material was seeing how architecture exists simultaneously as a profession and as a form of memory. The buildings remain in the city, but the drawings, photographs, sketches and personal records reveal the thought and craftsmanship that went into creating them.
The Fairhurst Architects collection has now been generously gifted to the Manchester Metropolitan University Archive’s Special Collections Museum, where it will become an important resource for the city. This is a fitting new chapter for an archive that has already travelled through three generations of the Fairhurst family.
A century of drawings, photographs, ideas and memories will now be available to future generations of architects, students, researchers and anyone interested in Manchester’s remarkable architectural heritage.
In an age when architectural work is increasingly digital, there is something particularly powerful about opening a folder and finding an original hand-drawn perspective, a carefully annotated drawing or a watercolour made by an architect who stood in the same streets more than a hundred years ago.
These are not simply records of buildings. They are records of a family, a profession and a city, and of the people whose individual journeys helped shape them. As Harry S Fairhurst’s great grandson, it has been particularly rewarding to see this part of the family’s architectural history preserved and made available to future generations.