THE REMARKABLE REVIVAL OF THE ANCOATS & ARDWICK DISPENSARY
Once one of Manchester’ s earliest hospitals, the Ancoats and Ardwick Dispensary was the first building of the rapidly expanding Ancoats Hospital complex dating back to 1874.
For generations it served as a vital community asset but as the surrounding hospital buildings disappeared, the Dispensary became the last standing fragment of a once vast medical institution.
After years of neglect, the Dispensary has now undergone a dramatic transformation. Its ornate façades have been meticulously restored, and its distinctive tower— long known as Ancoats’ beacon— has risen proudly once more.
Stone Central was at the heart of this complex conservation project, we were commissioned to take responsibility for bringing the building’ s historic fabric back to life. We combined traditional craftsmanship with painstaking archive research to ensure every detail stayed true to the building’ s Victorian origins.
Our team carefully sorted and catalogued stone and brickwork salvaged from earlier demolition phases. Missing or badly damaged stone and terracotta units were identified through a detailed survey, then sympathetically reproduced by our expert masons and terracotta specialists, Darwen Terracotta. Using historic photographs and archive material, they were able to faithfully rebuild the tower to its original proportions.
Each façade was repointed using specialist lime mortar and original window features were accurately recreated and reinstated in both stone and terracotta. Throughout the project, every material and method was agreed in close consultation with Manchester City Council’ s conservation team to ensure authenticity and longevity.
Today, new residents pass through the same thresholds once used by Victorian patients, now beautifully restored, surrounded by more than 100 years of Ancoats history.
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18- REFURB & RESTORE