A 1968 video capturing ‘cool’ students traversing Peel Park on a scorching day.
Summertime is a glimpse into a modernising campus, a journey starting at Salford Museum and Art Gallery, a wider skyline of once darkened smog and soot. Showcasing Henry Lord’s Accrington redbrick and terracotta Renaissance styled Peel Building, completed 1896, the clean symmetry of the Chemistry Tower, fully completed by 1971; both juxtaposed with scenes of relaxation in Peel Park, followed by a venture across the River Irwell to the former Meadow Road campus.
The University’s 1961 and 1963 masterplans are at the heart of the video. Courtaulds Technical Services played a central role in the latter designs taking over from the Lancashire County Architects Department, both influenced by new institutional aims and objectives, not to mention the refreshing breeze of Modernism blowing across the city and country at large. The Collge’s governors agreed the masterplans, based on the demolition of the Peel Building and Museum and Art Gallery which ultimately never happened. Courtaulds meticulously assessed the entire campus, incorporating contemporary design and innovative construction principles. The architectural development unfolded in stages, their plans illustrating growth up to the later years of the 1970s, a boundless commitment to progress.
The realisation of this visionary plan is evident today with buildings including the Cockcroft (1966), the the Clifford Whitworth Library (1971), Chapman (1972), and University House (1972). The Maxwell Building opened in 1961, designed by the Lancashire County Council Architect’s Department. Shortly after, a new computer followed in 1964, known today as the Gilbert Rooms. Additionally, west toward the Frederick Road campus is the Allerton Building. Constructed to house Peel Park Technical College (then as Salford Technical College, Halliday and Meecham, 1968) after the segregation of the Royal Technical College in 1958, so the College (and by 1968 a civic university) focussed specifically on science and technical disciplines.
The Allerton Building occupies a plot of land formerly known as Leaf Square, once home to the now-demolished Belle Vue House and Salford Grammar School. This school holds historical significance, attended by well known figures such as the young actor Albert Finney (1936-2019), film director Mike Leigh, singer Graham Nash, and Joy Division members Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner. The school relocated to Buile Hill Park in the 1950s when the University purchased the site.
Among the buildings no longer standing but fondly remembered are the Chemistry Tower and the Civil Engineering Buildings (Brindley, Telford, and Smeaton), completed between 1968 and 1970. Buildings which contribute to the campus’ rich history, despite their absence today.
Summertime (1968) can be accessed via the Library and Special Collections and the North West Film Archive. More film stills.
The Civil Engineering block at the former Meadow Road campus included the Brindley, Telford and Smeaton Buildings. Still taken from Summertime (1968), Library and Special Collections/North West Film Archive.
