Chepstow House and Sam Mendel
Chepstow House and Sam Mendel Chepstow House sits at the corner of Chepstow Street and Great Bridgewater Street in Manchester. It overlooks the famous Peveril of the Peak pub on one side, and the start of what was once the Manchester and Salford Junction canal on the other. The building is not of a regular shape, because the available land would not allow it, but this does does nothing to detract from its graceful beauty. Before it was built, the land was occupied by coal wharfs, so this must have been no small improvement. This was a very industrialised area at one time with large engineering works. Buildings were often designed to make a statement about a company. In the Victorian era business was largely conducted face to face, so first impressions were important. In this case though, I cannot help but think that Chepstow House was intended to be a statement about a man. Sam Mendel, the owner of Chepstow House, was immensely wealthy. He lived in a grand mansion in Whalley...