The Reform Club in Spring Gardens,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England, is a former gentlemen's club dating from the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. Built in 1870–1871 in the Venetian Gothic style, it was designed by

Edward Salomons Edward Salomons (1828–1906) was an English architect based in Manchester, active in the late 19th century. He is known for his architecture in the Gothic Revival and Italianate styles. His prominent commissions in Manchester include the Manchest ...

, in collaboration with an Irish architect, John Philpot Jones. Claire Hartwell, in her ''Manchester'' Pevsner City Guide considers the club Salomon’s "best city-centre building" and it has a

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

heritage designation. The contract for construction was awarded to Mr Nield, a Manchester builder, and had a value of £20,000. The Reform was constructed as the club house for Manchester's

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, and was opened by Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, Liberal Foreign Secretary, on October 19, 1871. The building is constructed of sandstone ashlar with polychrome dressings and a hipped slate roof. It is of three storeys with elaborate corner turrets,

oriel windows An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window is most commonly found projecting from an upper f ...

and balconies. The main entrance has extensive masonry carving, with gargoyles and “winged beasts". The interior contains a "fine” staircase, a two-storey main dining room, and a very large billiard room on the third floor, which runs the entire length of the building. The hall and staircase have

linenfold Linenfold (or linen fold) is a simple style of relief carving used to decorate wood panelling with a design "imitating window tracery", "imitating folded linen" or "stiffly imitating folded material". Originally from Flanders, the style became ...

panelling. Declining membership in the late 20th century led the club to merge with the Engineers' Club in 1967 to form the Manchester Club, but this also failed to prove financially viable and was wound up in 1988. The club's records are held at the

John Rylands Library The John Rylands Research Institute and Library is a Victorian era, late-Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, neo-Gothic building on Deansgate in Manchester, England. It is part of the University of Manchester. The library, which opened to t ...

, Deansgate. The building is now a restaurant and bar.

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References

* {{Authority control Grade II* listed buildings in Manchester Gothic Revival architecture in Greater Manchester Venetian Gothic architecture in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures completed in 1871

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