Arndale Centres were the first "American style" malls to be built in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In total, twenty three Arndales have been built in the United Kingdom, and three in Australia. The first opened in Jarrow, County Durham, in 1961, as a pedestrianised shopping area.

History

Shortly after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Arnold Hagenbach, a baker with a talent for property investment, and Sam Chippendale, an estate agent from

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 20 ...

, set up a company called the Arndale Property Trust, the name being a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsBradford's Victorian Swan Arcade in 1954, with the intention of demolishing it and developing a new shopping centre, but it took eight years before leases expired and building work could commence, so in the meantime it developed a site in Jarrow, County Durham, which became the first Arndale Centre when it opened in 1961. Its trademark Viking statue, built by the Trust, was unveiled on 17 February 1962. When the Wandsworth Arndale opened in 1971, it was the largest indoor shopping space in Europe. The largest Arndale Centre built was

Manchester Arndale Manchester Arndale (one of a number of shopping centres in the UK by the same developers, also known simply as the Arndale Centre or the Arndale) is a large shopping centre in Manchester, England. It was constructed in phases between 1972 and 19 ...

. It was redeveloped from 1996, after being badly damaged in an IRA bombing, and the centre has been owned by Prudential since December 1998.

Criticism

Arndale Centres attracted criticism on aesthetic grounds as they replaced old buildings – often of the Victorian period – with modern

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

constructions, often in a brutalist style. The value of the Wandsworth Arndale was maximised by the high rise tower blocks built on top of the mall, which helped it to become, according to some commentators, "one of London’s great architectural disasters".

List of Arndale Centres

United Kingdom

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

''now known as Mastrick Shopping Centre. * Accrington, Arndale House built 1961 on Broadway; Arndale Centre opened October 1987. *

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

Arndale House, Church Street. ''Demolished 2008 for extension of The Mall Blackburn'' *

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

, ''now known as Crompton Place Shopping Centre'' * Bradford, ''now known as Kirkgate Shopping Centre'' * Dartford, ''now known as Priory Shopping Centre'' *

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

, ''now known as Frenchgate Shopping Centre'' *

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

, ''now known as The Beacon'' * Jarrow, ''now known as Viking Centre'' *

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of ...

, ''now known as the Airedale Centre'' * Lancaster ''Demolished to make way for a market building, later replaced by

Primark Primark Stores Limited (; trading as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland) is an Irish multinational fast fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. It has stores across Europe and in the United States. The Penneys brand is not us ...

store'' *

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

Armley Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the Industrial Revolution and had several mills, one of which houses now the Leeds Industri ...

''shopping precinct no longer carries a name, Shop addresses usually referred to as Town Street'' *

Cross Gates Cross Gates (often spelled Crossgates) is a suburb in east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits between Seacroft and Swarcliffe to the north, Whitkirk and Colton to the south, Killingbeck to the west and Austhorpe to the south ea ...

, ''now known as

Crossgates Shopping Centre Cross Gates (often spelled Crossgates) is a suburb in east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits between Seacroft and Swarcliffe to the north, Whitkirk and Colton to the south, Killingbeck to the west and Austhorpe to the south eas ...

'' *

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, Arndale House on Pembroke Road, Liverpool. *

Longbenton Longbenton is a district of North Tyneside, England. It is largely occupied by an extensive estate originally built as municipal housing by Newcastle City Council in the 1930s and extended in the 1950s. It is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro st ...

, West Farm Avenue, Longbenton, Newcastle upon Tyne. ''Built 1962, demolished 2004'' *

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

, ''purchased in 2006 by

The Mall Company The Mall Fund owns and operates shopping centres in England using the trading name "The Mall Company". The shopping centres are usually branded and marketed as "the mall". The Mall Fund owned up to 10% of the covered retail space in the United Ki ...

, and now known as The Mall Luton'' *

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 ...

, ''the largest of the Arndale Centres'' * Middleton, ''now known as Middleton Shopping Centre'' * Morecambe *

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, ''now known as the Pendle Rise Shopping Centre, previously Admiral Shopping Centre'' *

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, ''known as the Broadmarsh Centre, now demolished'' * Poole, ''now known as the

Dolphin Shopping Centre The Dolphin Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in Poole, Dorset, England, formerly known as the Arndale Centre. The shopping centre adjoins Poole Bus Station. History and development In 1957 discussions began about creating a covered in shopp ...

'' * Shipley * Sunderland * Stretford, ''now known as Stretford Mall'' *

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its nam ...

, '' now known as

Southside Southside or South Side may refer to: Places Australia * Southside, Queensland, a semi-rural locality in the Gympie Region Canada * South Side, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community in the St. George's Bay area on the southwest coast of Newf ...

'' *

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...

, ''now known as Swansgate Shopping Centre''

Australia

* Adelaide – Kilkenny, now known as Armada Arndale * Adelaide – Oaklands Park ''previously known as Marion Arndale, now Westfield Marion'' *

Frenchs Forest Frenchs Forest (pron. frenches) is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Frenchs Forest is 13 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Cou ...

, ''now known as Forestway Shopping Centre'' *

Springwood, Queensland Springwood is a suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the , Springwood had a population of 9,710 people. Geography The size of Springwood is approximately 6 km². It has 17 parks covering nearly 9% of the total area. Th ...

References in popular culture

The phrase 'the Arndale Centre wasn't built in a day' (in place of 'Rome wasn't built in a day') was used in the film '' Little Voice''. A sketch in an episode of ''

A Bit Of Fry And Laurie ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, broadcast on both BBC1 and BBC2 between 1989 and 1995. It ran for four series and t ...

'' about greetings cards with very specific tailored messages inside features a card with the greeting "Sorry to hear your teeth fell out in the Arndale Centre". Numerous other references to Arndale Centres exist in the show. In an episode of ''

The Royle Family ''The Royle Family'' is a British sitcom produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series from 1998 to 2000, and specials from 2006 to 2012. It centres on the lives of a television-fixated Manchester family, the Royles, com ...

'', Nana is said to have a "spin out" outside Timpson's Shoe Shop (now closed) in the Stretford Arndale or precinct as it is known locally. British band Squeeze referenced the mall in the song "It's Not Cricket", from their album of 1979, '' Cool for Cats'', with the lyrics: "at the Arndale Centre, she's up against the wall." On his track ''the N. W. R. A.'' on The Fall's 1980 album ''

Grotesque (After the Gramme) ''Grotesque (After the Gramme)'' is the third studio album by English band the Fall. Released on 17 November 1980, it was the band's first studio album on Rough Trade. The album reached number one the UK Independent Chart, spending 29 weeks on ...

'', Manchester singer

Mark E. Smith Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer, who was the lead singer, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistols gig at the ...

described the destruction of the Arndale as part of an apocalyptic 'future rising' of the North. In the first Christmas special episode of '' The Worst Week of My Life'', "The Worst Christmas of my Life", Howard refers to visiting Santa's Grotto at the Arndale Centre. In series four, episode four "It's Only Rock and Roll" of ''

Only Fools And Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas ...

'', an Arndale Centre is mentioned, but it is not specific as to whether it is the Wandsworth or Dartford centre that is being referred to. Characters in the television series of ITV, '' Coronation Street'', characters occasionally reference going shopping in the

Centre, the television series being set in

. In the 2015 advert for Warburtons giant crumpets,

the Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses ...

sing "it's time to hit the Arndale / to get some bigger plates".Warburton Giant crumpet advert
/ref>

References

External links

{{Shopping centres in Yorkshire and the Humber Shopping centres in the United Kingdom Shopping centres in Australia