New Town House, Warrington

i stumbled on this building while out shopping with my mum a few years back. there'd been a pub just beyond that she used to go to and she'd wanted to show me. the pub was no longer what she remembered, but the detour did have the advantage of discovering Warrington's New Town House council offices.

it's not like i hadn't been into Warrington before, in fact I had been within viewing distance of this building the countless times my Nanna had taken me shopping up the spiral ramp and bridge from the car park to Warrington's pedestrianised shopping streets. but maybe it's no surprise i hadn't seen it all those times as it doesn't strike me as a building my Nanna (or many others even today) would have liked, let alone pointed out.

in the back of my mind for months had been the nagging to return and have a proper look around - but i'd assumed i could make the trip at my leisure on some post-pandemic trip in the future. researching around the building for a project of various interesting (imo) buildings, i found that it was to be demolished in 2021 and the nagging became more regular to the point where i began exercising with the intention of cycling to Warrington town centre.

yesterday, after a week or two of exercise-biking and checking the weather, this is what i did.

it took longer than google maps said it would, but i didn't sweat nearly as much as for the same effort on the exercise bike as it was so cold outside. the sky was clear and the winter sun low in the sky, conditions perfect for brutalist architecture photography.

first of all i was glad to arrive and see the building still standing - i wasn't sure if it would have been demolished already. i took lots of pictures and was happy i'd made it on such a clear day. nearing the end of my pictures a very nice old lady wandered up and asked what i was doing; i told her it was going to be demolished and that i was taking photos as an aspiring architecture student. she said i looked 'very capable' and insisted on giving me 2 pounds. i couldn't have wished for a nicer thing to happen.

because i'm a pathetic nerd i then took some photos of me in front of the building as some proof i'd actually been there myself. all in all a top tier day- i may now rest happy knowing i have some nice pictures of a cool building (and 2 pounds).

-pete

photographs of New Town House

taken on 10th February 2021