NorthWest Exploration Forum - Co-Operative Group Headquarters Build, Manchester

After heading underground we fancied something in the open air. First off was the SC HTC site just off Oxford Road, after getting into the site and up a floor or so we were collared by the security who said ‘I know you’. He made us climb down the scaff instead of taking us inside the building; I think he enjoys the challenge so there is no need to worry that we won’t come back. We’ll crack it.

Jimmy headed home so we jumped into the car and headed over to the Victoria area in the 3 degree weather. After a sly look at the upped security on site we used the loop hole that myself and Jimmy used over a year ago to climb the cranes.

It not a particularly tall building we soon reached the giant steel arches sat on the rooftop and got to work getting some photos and climbing the endless scaffolding sections and arches.

Manchester has housed the Co-op group since 1863 and in 2013 will celebrate 150 years here, they have 8 buildings across the city with the most noticeable being the CIS tower.

Before building could commence extensive digging was carried out as the site was a former work horse in the city packed with steam mills and slum type housing, Friedrich Engels has extensively written about this. I remember the cranes slowly being erected on the site, the process was severely late as remains of a young woman were found wrapped in a large beer mat/towel/piece of carpet on the site, the era of the clothing found suggests the burial was before the 1980’s.

Again this stuff was on 35mm and one or two shots were through FB’s 11-16 Tokina.

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Shouts to Morse, Millhouse & Fishbrain...