Fosters Levenshulme

Phil Griffin, Levenshulme resident and acclaimed writer, broadcaster and curator specialising in architecture and urban issues, has kindly agreed for us to reproduce his article on Sir Norman Foster's childhood and influences in Levenshulme. The piece was originally published in Belle Vue, a fanzine of Manchester writers and writing which can be bought at venues across the city. Phil is hoping to screen the film How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr Forster? in Manchester soon and we'll post details when they're available.



4 Crescent Grove Levenshulme M19 is, in most respects, unremarkable. The house is at one end of a stunted street. The gable wall is onto an entry. There is a bay on the down-stairs front room, and there are two bedrooms. You can see Stockport Road from the front bedroom window, the bedroom that was occupied, for 26 years, by Norman, only child of Lilly and Robert Foster. Norman had crossed Stockport Road to his primary school, biked it to an undistinguished finale at Burnage High School and trammed it into town for his first low-account job at Manchester Town Hall. The job didn’t promise much in the way of prospects, but at least it was secure.

Robert and Lil must have been made up for the lad. He’d be okay. But with no education prospects he had to chuck it after a couple of years for his National Service in the RAF. After another job as a clerk with Beardshaw’s Architects on Oxford Road he took himself to the university to study architecture and city planning. They had him, stuck at home, for another five years. To cut a long story short, Robert and Lilly’s lad went on to become Baron Foster of Thames Bank, the most successful architect in the world, the greatest British architect since Christopher Wren. Today he commutes between offices in Battersea, Swiss chateau and French villa. You’d think he might miss Crescent Grove.



Norman Foster doesn’t come back much, but he did call in Levenshulme Library last year. Not, as it turned out, to return a long overdue copy of Le Corbusier’s Vers une architecture, but to remind himself of the building that introduced him to Corb, Frank Lloyd Wright and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the first place. He would have been well advised, whilst he was in the area, to step over Cromwell Grove and browse in Ibrahim’s plant shop and whole-food store, just to get a feel for Levy’s contemporary vibe.

Norman was about to remodel the New York Public Library, the biggest free library in the world. Levenshulme is on an altogether different scale, though it too has had a makeover recently. Paintwork and tiles are refreshed, and the gable-ends of the bookcases are decorated with black and white blow-ups of bygone Levenshulme. There are rows of computer terminals, a kiddie corner and lots of books in Urdu. The Arcadia cinema, on the other side of the wall at the end of Norman’s street is a sports hall now, and the Palace, were he spent his Saturday mornings 16 years before me, watching The Three Stooges and Lone Ranger, has moved on through Irish cabaret, to Asian banqueting.



Sivori’s coffee bar has bitten the dust, and Estelle Modes and Platt’s furniture. The engineering works on Elbow Street shut down, along with Robinson’s bakery, and Titterton’s the pork butcher has gone the way of his excellent dripping. Nora the nit nurse no longer purple-daubs the scalps of prody dogs and cat licks, from Chapel Street and St Mary’s, in the clinic in the town hall. That’s part of the Antiques Market now, and this whole strip of Stocky Road, from Cromwell Grove to Broom Lane became something of an antiquarian’s fair ground in the years it took Norman to get his Architecture Masters degree from Yale, set up Team 4 with Richard Rogers, design the grade 1 listed Willis Faber Dumas building in Ipswich, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, Reichstag, Great Court at the British Museum, the Gherkin, Millennium and Millau bridges, Stanstead and Beijing airports. One of Norman’s near contemporaries at Burnage – Roland Smith - went on to be head of British Aerospace. Norman Foster launched himself into the stratosphere.



Because I write about architecture I got to meet Norman Foster in his practice offices in 2002 when Foster and Partners teamed up with Manchester developer Urban Splash to enter the competition to build the so-called Fourth Grace at Liverpool’s Pier Head (architect Will Alsop went on to win, though the scheme was eventually scrapped). He was smaller than I’d imagined and didn’t look well (turns out he could have been in the middle of successful treatment for bowel cancer). He was taking no notice of me until I went up to him with my hand outstretched, and said, “Lord Foster, I’ve always wanted to say this to you: I’m Phil Griffin, and I’m from Levenshulme”. Taking my hand, and after the briefest pause, he snatched a quick glance around, “There aren’t many of us in this room”. He is, to my knowledge, perfectionist and control freak. Three times married (his first wife died in 1989) and compulsively private. Blow-hard, quick-draw, go-getter at all costs. That meeting I had with him had been scheduled for 10am. His PA rang to ask if it could be put back to 10.30, “Yes of course, but why, may I ask?” “Because he has a breakfast in Berlin that morning”. I’m thinking timings, “But what time is he scheduled to get back into London?” “Oh, he’ll see to that. He’s the pilot.”



Norman Foster’s journey is unquestionably one of the most extraordinary of the 20th century. You can learn about it in a recently published authorised biography by Deyan Sudjic, Norman Foster A Life in Architecture. But you won’t learn very much. Norman does not engage with the small talk of life: near fatal illness, half a sentence; second marriage, just twice as much. But what you will learn, should you order a copy from your local library, is that his Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank building of 1979 - 86, at 44 storeys now dwarfed by much that came after it, is, to date, the most expensive building ever built (in excess of £1,000m). Foster was 44 years old when he won the gig, and he had never built above four storeys in his life.



Opposite 4 Crescent Grove is 2 Poplar Villas, an extraordinarily pretty Edwardian mini-villa clearly much loved by its present owners. Go left out of Norman’s street and under the railway, with the Catholic Club bowling green to your right and you are in the Rushford Park Conservation Area, a beautifully evolved village of Georgian through to Edwardian houses; cottage, detached, semi-detached and terraced, set in generous well-treed space. Just to the north is Slade Hall, a half-timbered Manor House from 1585. Norman knew this stuff, and he worked in Manchester Town Hall, the first great masterpiece of Alfred Waterhouse, Manchester’s first great architect.



Norman Foster knew some of the best architecture outside London. And he knew what made cities work. He walked to Great Ancoats Street in his lunch hour to look at The Daily Express building of 1939, by Sir Owen Williams, one of the finest pre-war buildings in Britain. We always called it “The Black Glass Building”, on account of its patent black oily Vitrolite skin. When Norman Foster got his first big commission in the UK in 1971, from insurance company Willis Faber Dumas to build them a new HQ in Ipswich, he wrapped his building in a sheer contour-hugging slinky black undulating glass skin. I walked around it a few years back and, in a peculiar way, it made me proud to be Mancunian. And prouder still to be from Levenshulme.



Many thanks to Phil for his co-operation.

Some Light Pre-Easter Reading

Drumming your fingers before the bank holiday starts? Why not releive your mind with a little light reading...well...kind of.

The Levenshulme District Action Plan was drawn up in 2009 and has some, um, interesting perspectives on how the area is developing and what remains to be done. You might notice that there are some disclaimers included about how the changing (as was) economic climate might affect both the area and how the Council can commit to helping our regeneration, as well as some interesting observations about the way the retail offering affects our public spaces. As always, happy to hear your comments, either below or to lovelevenshulme@gmail.com.

Levenshulme Hustings!

The good folk behind Love Levenshulme, Hate Cuts have organised a local election Hustings for Levenshulme and Gorton South to be held on Thursday 28th April. The meeting will take place at Inspire, will run from 7.00pm to 9.00pm and is open to everyone.

All candidates have been invited and there have far been confirmations from the Green Party, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats , Respect and the Conservative candidate for Gorton South.

The guest chair for the event will be Rev. David Grey, who will invite Candidates to speak for three minutes and then take written and oral questions. If you wish to put in a written question before the evening, please email lovelevyhatecuts@gmail.com.

Full details of the event are on Facebook.

love Blogging

So I have an idea.

I'd like to promote your blog on this website. We get a few hits and once we even won an award (I manage to get this fact into all manner of everyday conversations, which is a touch sad but I won an award so there).

So if you live in Levenshulme and write on a blog then let us know by commenting below or by tweeting us (@lovelevenshulme). Your blog can be about anything and everything, we won't critique you or anything like that we will just promote you a little bit.

We will ask you to provide us with 100 (or near enough) words about who you are, how long you have lived in Levy, why you love it and what your blogs about. Although, we are not going to be strict about this so just get in touch and we will take it from there.

I may get the ball rolling with a few of my blogs or I may pick out a few other levy blogs to cover.

Anyways, don't be shy.

Manchester Neighbours Day 2011

Now, Levenshulme being the place that it is, I know that some of you know about this already, but...

Friday 27th May 2011 is Manchester Neighbours Day, part of Manchester City Council's 'Be Proud Love Manchester' initiative to improve neighbourhoods and increase local pride. The Neighbours Day concept is an annual event that takes place throughout Europe at the end of May and aims to encourage neighbours to meet and get to know each other better by arranging street parties or any small local event that brings people together. With that in mind Manchester City Council are making grants of up to £200.00 available to residents groups, associations or just informal groups of neighbours who've got together for the occasion. The funding can be used to hire equipment (bouncy castles! awnings! BBQs!), materials (bunting!) or decoration (more bunting!) - anything you need to throw a good party.

The forms to apply for the grants need to be completed by Friday 29th April and can be found here and the council have a page with more guidance here.

Time conspired against us here at LoveLevenshulme and next year we're hoping to make Levy the most street-party-y place in the city with a festival of street fun and all sorts but we'd really like as many people as possible to get to know their neighbours and have a bit of fun in the process this year too. Levenshulme has suffered at the hand of the recent cuts and this is a fantastic opportunity for us to show the rest of the city that we're still proud of where we live.

We're a really engaged community and it would be great to be able to boast that we held the most parties in Manchester so if you're thinking about putting together a street party or your street is already planning one please let us know so we can shout about it! Similarly, if you'd like to have a party and you're not sure where to start please get in touch and we'll be happy to advise you - Manchester City Council have said that they're really keen to get new people involved this year and if there's enough interest we may be able to set up a session with them to get you started.

So, go on! 'Ave a party!

P.A.W.S. May Day Fair

PAWS - the charity that rehabilitates injured and orphaned wildlife, shelters and adopts homeless cats and dogs, and educates people to make a better world for animals and people - is holding a family fun day at the Klondyke Club over the May Bank Holiday.

The fair will run from 1.00pm - 6.00pm on Sunday 1st of May and will feature a kids disco and entertainment, party games (which I'm assuming are for kids, adults might want to preserve their dignity...or not, there are prizes up for grabs!) and a bouncy castle (again, adults, much as you might want to have a bounce it's probably best not to). There will also be face painting and temporary tattoos, a cake stall, BBQ and a raffle.

The Klondyke bar will be open throughout (now there's an adult activity I can get on board with) and there will be a dog behaviourist on site giving out advice.

Tickets are £3.00 for individuals or £10.00 for families (2 adults, 2 kids) and can be bought in advance from the Klondyke. Any enquiries contact nicole.derbyshire@hotmail.co.uk or sarahderbyshire23@googlemail.com.

Levenshulme Steet Market in Pictures

A little late, as is customary round these parts, I thought I'd post a few photos of the first ever Levenshulme Street Market.

The market took place on Friday 25th March 2011 - a beautiful and unconventionally sunny day - and was fantastically attended both by stall holders and shoppers. Just to pick up a few of my personal highlights - Beth's Buns produced an amazing array of cakes, including a fantastic rainbow cake - check out their Facebook page for the pictures. The ever-productive Emily Wardman also brought down a fantastic selection of crafty things under the Made in Levenshulme banner.


Top-sellers were the Made in Levenshulme baby grows and bibs and brilliant canvas bags with a natty We Saved Our Baths slogan. I've already seen a few of the bags on the arms of discerning Levy shoppers and I'm told that there's a mini-baby boom happening in Levenshulme at the moment so no doubt we'll start seeing babies proudly displaying their heritage soon. Also on offer were fashionable bags, jewellery and clothes, freshly baked bread and hot sauces and a good selection of street food to munch as you shop.


Actor Jimmi Harkishin (aka Dev off of Corrie) officially opened the market, thanking all involved and presenting a cup to the winners of the Levenshulme's Got Talent competition.

It really was a lovely day and a great show of enthusiasm for shopping local. The next market will be on Friday 22nd April (Good Friday) and I'm told that it will feature an expanded range of food on offer - including local organic meat and fresh fish.

Burnage Good Neighbours

At the Levenshulme Street Market (yes, yes, this is a bit late, you should be used to that by now) I met a lovely chap whose name I forgot to take down (never one for high reporting standards, me) from Burnage Good Neighbours.

For those of you who don't know Burnage Good Neighbours is a community-based organisation who provide care and support for the elderly residents of Burnage. They were at the fair to promote the service and the fact that they are now expanding the service to Levenshulme. As part of their work they make contact with isolated and house-bound older people, assisting with minor DIY, driving to shopping and essential services and providing respite care.

All of these services are provided by volunteers and they need more! You only need to give a small amount of time to make a big difference to peoples lives. If you're interested in helping or you know someone who can help please get in touch with Mike or Cath on 0161 431 7220 or go to www.mncga.co.uk.

MERZ-SHED-II

As trailed by us a few months back, SHED, the pop-up art space at Tonbridge Road allotments is now showing work curated by the MERZMAN project, which celebrates the creative legacy of German artist Kurt Schwitters. The show is open now until 10th April, daily except Mondays and Tuesdays from 5.00pm - 7.00pm. On the project they write:

Eddie Price re-examines his Homage to Kurt Schwitters, using biomorphic shapes derived from spills and stains meticulously produced in ink; whilst Hazman creates an encaustic shrine in an attempt evoke the spirit of Schwitters' Merzbarn in the diminutive SHED gallery urban retreat on an allotment in Levenshulme.

Pool Arts is an innovative arts organization formed in 1999, run by and for its members. It has a studio base at Hope Mill in Ancoats and a thriving network of members who meet regularly. It includes writers and musicians as well as visual artists. They are working to create a supportive framework giving members, who may otherwise be excluded, opportunities to produce, promote and sell their own artwork. Pool Arts provide a hot desking studio space, support, training, professional and personal development opportunities for members.

To find out more visit www.poolarts.org