Background
Harry Smith Fairhurst was born in Blackburn on 3 April 1868.
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Harry Fairhurst
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Career
He was responsible for many of the city"s iconic warehouses and his commissions include Blackfriars House, headquarters of the Lancashire Cotton Corporation and Arkwright House, headquarters of the English Sewing Cotton Company. He commenced articles in 1883 with James Wolstenholme and improved with Maxwell and Tuke. He moved to Cardiff where he worked as assistant to William Frame.
He qualified in 1891 and started his own practice in Blackburn in 1895.
From 1905 his assistant was James Alexander Mitchell Hunter who became his partner in 1908. The practice"s first commissions were warehouses for Lloyds Packing Company.
Fairhurst"s commissions include India House, Bridgewater House and Lancaster House which are Grade II or II* listed buildings. York House in Major Street was another but has been demolished.
Fairhurst"s warehouses were built using fire-proof techniques.
He was known for his high standards. Some buildings were finished with Portland stone façades while the Lloyd"s warehouses had Edwardian Baroque frontages built from red brick and orange terracotta or faience, and exposed glazed steel-frame backs. Fairhurst was president of the Manchester Society of Architects in 1926-1927.
Buildings from this era were Lee House in Oxford Street and Rylands Warehouse in Market Street.
They also designed Christie"s Hospital and Holt Radium Institute. Harry Smith Fairhurst retired in 1941 and died in 1945.
His descendants
The practice continued in the medical buildings field lieutenant was responsible for building the Manchester Medical School, and the Chemistry and Physics Buildings for University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. Harry M Fairhurst was president of the Manchester Society of Architects in 1969-1971.
He left the practice in 1981 to work on conservation for English Heritage, Ian changed his career to farming.
The fourth generation is represented by Mark Fairhurst who has a London practice. He has completed two projects in Smithfields, a refurbishment at 25 Church Street and a new build at 38 High Street. National Buildings (1905-1909)
India House, (1905)
Bridgewater House (1913)
Lancaster House (1906)
York House
Blackfriars House (1923)
Arkwright House (1927)
Ship Canal House
Manchester Liners House
Lee House (1928-1931).
