Westminster House is a commercial building on the south east side of Portland Street,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. As "County Hall", it was the headquarters of

Greater Manchester County Council The Greater Manchester County Council (GMCC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater Manchester from 1974 to 1986. A strategic authority, with responsibilities for roads, public transport, planning, emergency services ...

from its formation in April 1974 to its abolition in March 1986.

History

In the mid-19th century, the site on the south east side of Portland Street had been occupied by a row of residential and retail properties which included the Portland Street Silk Mill; the area in the next block to the south east of the site (on the south east side of Major Street) was known at that time as Westminster Place and this may have been, in part, the origin of the name. The site itself continued to be occupied by the same aging residential and retail properties until the mid-20th century. The building, which was designed by

Fitzroy Robinson & Partners Fitzroy Robinson & Partners was one of the UK's largest firms of architects. It was based at Devonshire Street in London and founded by Herbert Fitzroy Robinson. History The firm was established by Herbert Fitzroy Robinson in 1956. Public buildin ...

and built at the cost of £4.5 million (£ as of ), was completed in 1973. The design for the seven-storey building involved a main frontage on Portland Street with wings stretching back along Minshull Street and Aytoun Street; the ground floor was designated for retail use and the windows on the first floor were slightly recessed; the upper floors featured a continuous bands of glazing with red brick above and below the glazing. The building was acquired for use as the headquarters of

on its formation in April 1974. It was originally referred to as County Hall and, although the county council officers and their departments were based at County Hall, the full county council would meet at

Manchester Town Hall Manchester Town Hall is a Victorian era, Victorian, Gothic Revival architecture, Neo-gothic City and town halls, municipal building in Manchester, England. It is the ceremonial headquarters of Manchester City Council and houses a number of local ...

. The building was vacated by Greater Manchester County Council on its abolition in March 1986. In 1988, the building was sold for circa £5 million to Parc Securities who refurbished it and converted it for commercial use. It was then sold on, in 1990, for circa £22 million to County Hall Properties who renamed it "Westminster House"; it was suggested in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' that this may have been, in part, to honour the Westminster Government of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

which had abolished Greater Manchester County Council. The building was later acquired by

Aviva Investors Aviva Investors is an investment management company and is part of the Aviva group. History The London unit, previously known as Morley, was founded in 1971 as Geoffrey Morley and Partners. This was bought by Globe Investment in 1988 and then sol ...

, who commissioned an extensive programme of refurbishment works costing £18 million which were carried out by contractors, Styles & Wood, to a design by BDP and completed in summer 2017. Following completion of the refurbishment works, the building was renamed again, this time simply to 11 Portland Street. Notable residents as of 2022 include

Arm Limited Arm Holdings plc (formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a British semiconductor and software design company based in Cambridge, England, whose primary business is the design of central processing ...

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Manchester County halls in England Government buildings completed in 1973 1973 establishments in England