[NorthMancBeds]

A gentle nose around Salford this morning gave up a couple of easy insides, with nought too rewarding but grime. So if you like dirt then I figure these are OK. Derwent House is next to the Irwell at the edge of Ordsall and has been empty for quite some time, the last occupant was a builder and roofer. I was drawn by the concrete barrel vaulted roof, its square openings made for some good cast light inside. Nothing of any great interest in here, save the old doors – I like a door.

Then a quick push and pull at the old trade union building on Salford Crescent and I sort of wished I hadn’t – definitely wronged by those with addictions that lead them to desperate places. I won’t go into details, but one for the scatologists. Two-storey 1960s block, empty and without any redeeming features whatsoever.

And finally, a curiosity – a wall alone in a yard with a palisade fence around it. The wall is home to a, now listed, ceramic mural by Alan Boyson and was attached to Cromwell School for Girls, which has been demolished save for the single structural bay which carries the listed relief. A case of preservation gone mad or a just act of conservation? I reckon it depends what happens to it and how much it costs the citizens of Salford.

peace

NMB


Derwent House




















Skanky




Tree of Knowledge, Alan Boyson