Gun Street Buildings, Ancoats, Manchester. Building Investigation.

Following a request from Arca, a photographic survey and summary descriptive record of three former industrial buildings in Ancoats, Manchester, was undertaken by
Oxford Archaeology North in March 2005. The survey was required to satisfy an archaeological condition attached to consent for a planning proposal to redevelop a block of land between Great Ancoats Street and Henry Street, Manchester, centred on NGR SJ 8485 9856. The proposal for redevelopment, submitted by the BSC Group, allows for the refurbishment of a building situated on the corner of Gun Street and
Jersey Street, and the demolition of two other buildings within land bounded by Great Ancoats Street and Gun Street.
The buildings range in date from the second half of the 19th century to the 1930s, and each was used, at least in part, for small-scale manufacturing and warehousing purposes. Previous studies of warehouses in Manchester have tended to focus on the larger types occupied by carriers or merchants, with little research having been undertaken into their smaller counterparts. The present investigation has provided a valuable opportunity to undertake a rapid survey of a small range of such buildings in Ancoats, where few examples survive intact.