Possible former Church? Upper Brook Street, Manchester

(Possibly a house, possibly a Methodist church) to make way for student accommodation in Manchester:

Genuinely flummoxed by the age and origin of these buildings. They appear ecclesiastical, but no reference to a church on the Ordnance Survey is made on historic maps. I can’t see the buildings (to the right) being used as houses, so their purpose eludes me.

Still, attractive buildings nonetheless. And the last of the old stock along Carmoor Road adjacent to upper brook Street in Manchester’s University Quarter. It follows that their replacement is to be a block of mid-rise student flats.

While the intensification of the site is a good idea for such a central location in the city, I still lament the loss of the buildings pictured above, which could only ever be from old school Britain. A recent tirade against the studentification of urban centres has presented itself in the media. I fully support the decanting of students from suburban ‘family housing’ into city centres, but I still wish one of the many surrounding tin sheds could pave the way for such a development.

The street will soon be block after block, rather than building after building. I like to see a city grow upwards, but not at the expense of a good solid street frontage.