| Uttley House | |
|---|---|
 The original Firs section | |
 | |
| Former names | The Firs, Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre |
| General information | |
| Location | Fallowfield Campus |
| Address | Chancellors Way,Fallowfield,Manchester |
| Coordinates | 53°26′37″N2°12′48″W / 53.443611°N 2.213333°W /53.443611; -2.213333 |
| Completed | 1850 |
| Owner | University of Manchester |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Edward Walters |
| Designations | |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | The Firs and attached annex |
| Designated | 2 October 1974 |
| Reference no. | 1270605 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Lodge of The Firs, with attached gateway |
| Designated | 2 October 1974 |
| Reference no. | 1254834 |
Uttley House (formerly namedThe Firs), is aGrade II listed building andhalls of residence inFallowfield,Manchester, England. It was designed and built in 1850 byEdward Walters, who was also responsible for Manchester'sFree Trade Hall. The building is named after English writerAlison Uttley. It was originally built forSir Joseph Whitworth; the house was later the home ofC. P. Scott, editor of theManchester Guardian. It is surrounded by 5.5 acres (2.2 ha) 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.
Whitworth used The Firs mainly as a social, political and business base, entertaining radicals of the age such asJohn Bright,Richard Cobden,William Forster andT. H. Huxley at the time of theReform Bill of 1867. Whitworth, credited with raising the art ofmachine-tool building to a previously unknown level, supported the newMechanics Institute inManchester — the birthplace ofUMIST — 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 revolutionaryhexagonally rifled barrel. The house was surrounded by a 52 acres (21 ha) estate that now makes up the currentFallowfield Campus.[1]
In 1882, having built a new house inDarley Dale, Whitworth leased The Firs to his friendC.P. Scott, editor of theManchester Guardian.[1] After Scott's death the house became the property of theUniversity of Manchester, and was the vice-chancellor's residence until 1991. The house is aGrade II listed building.[2]
The house was converted into a hotel and re-opened as theChancellors 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 theuniversity'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 theCOVID-19 pandemic, the former hotel site was used as avaccination centre.[6]
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 writerAlison Uttley.[7] The halls of residenceJunior Common Room is shared with Richmond Park, another hall of residence to the north.[8]
Included in the site formerly part of The Firs is theFirs Environmental Research Station, a research institute of theDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences.[9] During World War I, various drugs were grown and developed at the station, includingAtropa belladonna andHyoscyamus 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]
Buildings and structures inManchester, England | ||
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Italics denote building under construction | ||
53°26′37″N2°12′48″W / 53.44361°N 2.21333°W /53.44361; -2.21333
