I mentioned L. S. Lowry in a previous post, but these images deserve their own post.
Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887-1976) studied at the Royal Technical College School of Art between 1915 and 1925, attending evening classes while working as a residential rent collector. In 1909 he moved from Victoria Park in Manchester to Pendlebury in Salford; a relatively short geographical shift, yet one that exposed him to a very different industrial landscape. The contrast between Manchester’s leafy southern suburbs and Salford’s dense industrial environment proved formative, influencing the visual form that would come to define his work. This was soon picked up by his tutor, Bernard Taylor, art critic for the Manchester Guardian, who reportedly criticised Lowry’s paintings as too dark. In response, he began painting on a pure white background, a technique he retained throughout his career.
Many of Lowry’s works present perspectives that resonate with views from the Peel Building, looking across the campus towards Peel Park, the Museum and Art Gallery, and the wider industrial city beyond. These scenes depict Victorian landscapes alongside the realities of an urban environment defined by back-to-back housing, factory chimneys, and smog-filled skies. Modern redevelopment is notably absent, capturing a moment before large-scale transformation reshaped the area.
One example is Belle Vue House, Leaf Square (1925), a simple line drawing depicting a grand residence that no longer survives. Located in what was once Leaf Square, approximately where the Allerton Building stands today, the area was originally composed of Georgian housing arranged around inward-facing squares branching off Salford Crescent. Over time, these spaces disappeared as part of the City Council’s civic renewal and redevelopment schemes, including the clearance of the former Grammar School site.
Revisiting photographs and drawings from this period offers a valuable glimpse into a landscape that has largely vanished. These images provide a reminder of the layered histories embedded within the Peel Park Campus and its surroundings.
All images courtesy of the Lowry Collection, Salford.
Peel Park, Salford, 1927.
[…] Belle Vue House, Leaf Square is an interesting image as this simple line drawing shows a grand house that has now vanished. This is the area where the Allerton Building is now located; Leaf Square no longer exists, apart from a small triangular section of public grass on the other side of Frederick Road. Initially, the area was made up of Georgian Housing (some of which is today Grade II Listed and can still be seen on Broad Street) and several schools including the former Salford Grammer School. The square was still there in the 1950s, which can be seen on OS maps and was one of many public squares located off from Salford’s Crescent. The houses turned their backs on Frederick Road and directly faced the square. The area was no doubt a pleasant place to live if the smoke from the nearby dye works, ironworks, glassworks and the passing locomotives didn’t affect your sinuses and eyes. Read and see more of Lowry’s work from the Peel Building here. […]
[…] Building). Leaf Square was well liked by Lowry and the setting for several of his earliest inspired works. […]
[…] Belle Vue House, Leaf Square is an interesting image as this simple line drawing shows a grand house that has now vanished. This is the area where the Allerton Building is now located; Leaf Square no longer exists, apart from a small triangular section of public grass on the other side of Frederick Road. Initially, the area was made up of Georgian Housing (some of which is today Grade II Listed and can still be seen on Broad Street) and several schools including the former Salford Grammer School. The square was still there in the 1950s, which can be seen on OS maps and was one of many public squares located off from Salford’s Crescent. The houses turned their backs on Frederick Road and directly faced the square. The area was no doubt a pleasant place to live if the smoke from the nearby dye works, ironworks, glassworks and the passing locomotives didn’t affect your sinuses and eyes. Read and see more of Lowry’s work from the Peel Building here. […]
[…] Building). Leaf Square was well liked by Lowry and the setting for several of his earliest inspired works. […]
[…] century artists work contributed to Salford’s cultural identity, including the artist L. S. Lowry, textile designer Celia Birtwell, and documentary photographer Shirley Baker. However, Milne pursued […]