The Hidden History of Manchester's Grandest Building
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- In this video we visit Manchester's Grandest building the Refuge Assurance building. It has a secret and hidden history. Now a Hotel it was built for the Refuge Assurance company in 1891 designed by the Architect Alfred Waterhouse. This really is a grand and Baroque building full of hidden secrets and history. We learn about the ghost that haunts the building and see all the original features of this art deco building. The stunning architecture is breathtaking during this tour of Manchester' Principle hotel it was also called the Palace hotel. Behind the hotel we can see the river Medlock on this guided Manchester tour. The River Medlock of course where I have waded and done lots of Urban exploring urbex.
Music:
Danse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (creativecommon...)
Source: incompetech.com...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Music :Music provided by HearWeGo
Artist: Andy Leech
Title: I Love You
Listen on RUclips: • Andy Leech - I Love You
My parents met at the Refuge in the mid 1950's, they worked several floors apart and sent messages to each other via the pneumatic tube system. Mum remembers having to sit at separate tables in the staff canteen and she also appeared on the stage TWICE, she also recalls there being a pianist. Apparently Dad played snooker there and won the Manchester Evening News Snooker Cue Award around 1955.
Mum says she "was young and didn't appreciate the surroundings" , and it is over 60 years later she has again seen inside the building via your video.
Wow Julie thats amazing. Thats a fab story thanks very much. You must give your parents my regards 👌
Martin
Never ever lose your enthusiasm for the greatness of our Northern past.. we have lost way too much of it to the politicians and their greed..
Keep up the great work!
Thanks David
Thanks for that Martin brought back some great memories for me. Worked there for 4 years from about 1973 as a junior clerk in the Life Assurance section. Hated the job especially manual filing of hundreds of long thin brown paper envelope files. Loved the building with its majestic staircases and remember the Christmas parties in the dining room. Our office overlooked the Medlock and Oxford Street bridge and i clearly remember looking out each day to see what colour it was as it was so polluted it regularly changed colour depending on what was in it. As a teenager i liked the flexi shifts, start at 10am and finish at 6pm. Straight across the road to the pub for dinner and boozy games of pool before getting the bus back from Oxford Street to New Moston (usually) in the freezing cold rain.
Cheers Tom great memories
The editing from 1:40 is absolutely brilliant, the coordination with the music is spot on. The whole programme could be 3 hours long and I would've watched every single minute of it. I bet you've only touched on the history of the building. And thanks to Manchester Principle Hotel for showing you around and allowing you to highlight the best bits of the building.
Thank you very much. Yes there is much more I only touched on the easily available info to be honest
Back in 2004-2007 I had a project that required me to travel to Manchester quite a bit - often for long weekends packed with out-of-hours work. They were doing some renovations on this building at the time, so there were discounted rooms available - bringing it within my meagre travel allowance!
I was entranced by this building - it was a wonderful place to stay, with real character. I took a few hours to wander around - finding things like the second floor safe room. Corridors lined with columns, that staircase, and everywhere such beautiful tiling.
For one memorable weekend trip, there was a mixup with my booking. The staff were very apologetic and I got put in a second floor room that was obviously an old office - with high ceilings, a fireplace, big windows. Very impressive, and very well converted.
I recommended the hotel to a colleague. His verdict? Terrible - because it didn't have a gym! Some people, eh? ;-) He went to stay in a Novotel instead...
Thanks for this video - it brought back fond memories of this building. Hopefully I can stay in it again sometime soon!
Hello Philip thanks for the info fascinating. A Novotel.....his loss 😀
Id trade a gym and do body exercises to stay in this beauty. Even better...not bother exercising at all ;)
I used to pass that when i worked at Lewis's, has to be one of the most impressive building's in the world
Just watched the rest of it..... speechless. The days when this city was a centre of Industry, Engineering and Commerce..... Wow, you've excelled yourself with this one Martin.
People say, you should be on TV, I disagree, You're better than that ! You're a natural and someone that exudes passion for what you do, and where you live ! Top Bloke !!!
Roj ( Stockport.... once )
I am from Melbourne, Australia and have recently found your videos of which I am absolutely gobsmackingly appreciative of the insights you give to us all....thankyou Martin & Cos for delivering amazing tours throughout your wonderfully interesting city and what makes these videos capitivating is the immense degree of research you put into deliving these videos....thanks again
Thank you very much Deborah. Nice to see the videos being watched so far away
I know that there was a Dramatics Society for the Refuge Asssurance employees, and they performed shows in the ballroom. I think it use to be a theatre!
There can't have been many households in Manchester, or even farther away, that didn't pay a couple of shillings to the collector every week. In the 50s when I lived in Withington I remember asking Mac (his name must have been McLeod or MacMillan or some such) how many calls he made in our street. He said all of them. In my little lad logic I thought he was called Mac because he always wore a gaberdine mac. Haha!
The Refuge Assurance became rich from those millions of subscriptions. The selling point was that we all die, so why not make some profit. Stash away a little now then grab a load of cash when the loved one kicked the bucket. In the mean time, the Refuge Assurance used our money to gamble on stocks and shares, making a mint of money as we can see in the opulent building, with its thousands of busy workers, some of whom had quite lavish lifestyles.
The Prudential was another one. "The man from the Pru"
Yep absolutely , we had the man from the Pru
Yes we also had the Pru. Such a big building was needed because each of those frequent payments had to be recorded manually against the customer's account. Presumably this is why the building was no longer needed in the 1980s as computers began to take over. The colleague who worked there said there were huge "general offices" with rows of clerks entering every payment into ledgers. No calculators to add up the £/s/d in those days!
Radio jonophone. . My grandad had insurance with them for years. Never claimed.
l still have the books. If l hired a solicitor will l get his £2.10 and interest back?😨😨
Radio Jonophone Enjoyed very much reading your comments everything very well put.
Yes, your probably correct concerning people paying their few shillings payments
which then invested on the Stock Markets.
It's a stunning place where we live. I've seen and been past here 1000s of times and been on the bus looking over at the medlock too. We sometimes don't appreciate what our city as to offer. Great video again mate. Keep up the good work EWC 😁👍
Even though I don't live in Manchester, I find your video's very interesting indeed.
I recognise the River Medlock from previous video's that you have presented to us.
Thanks for your enthusiasm and research that you have undertaken.
Thank you very much Roy
absolutely brilliant production. so profesional. I'd watch your presentations any day rather than the TV channels. Very well done indeed
Thanks very much. It makes it all worthwhile when you say that 👍
"We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us."
We don't build anything like this any more. It's sad.
I once had a job interview in that ballroom. I didn't get it, but at least I got to see the incredible architecture
Wow what a place for a job interview 👍
As featured in "Hell is a city" classic British film noir, made in 1960 starring Stanley Baker and of course Manchester itself.
I left Manchester in 1968 and to this day I still can't believe that the buildings aren't all black. How beautiful they look now. Not to mention the Medlock with water that isn't a *very* stinky grey. Thanks Martin for another bit of nostalgia!
Thanks, The Medlock has fish in it now
Martin you have to be proud that you live in the most historical city of Manchester.
Love from IRAQ.
Thank you, yes I am. best regards to you in Iraq 👌
Excellent as ever. Fascinating fact about the clock face. I used to work in St James's Building when it was the head office of the Calico Printer's Association and is worth exploring.
Sounds good Clive, there are so many to do
WOW WOW what can I say.. This is mouthdropping. We have never seen anything like this. Thank you for sending this to us.
Thank you very much, yes stunning building
It’s amazing that we have so many Mancunians on here saying they have lived in the city all their lives but never been in this building....maybe is because I have a fascination with buildings new and old but in my 58 years I think I’ve managed one way or another to go inside every building of interest to in the city centre. Been in this building many times including getting married here....one of me favourite buildings in the city.
Yeah its a beautiful place
Brilliant, it's fascinating to see inside there. I must've walked past it who knows how many times when I was a kid in the eighties. I always found it quite a scary building.. Always imagined it was full of Dickensian style businessmen.
It would've been interesting to have explored it while it was disused.
I am a student currently studying at the University of Manchester. Last year, one of my end-of-year balls was at Kimpton Hotel and it was such an experience. The workers' canteen is magnificent! Thank you for making this video and allowing me to truly appreciate its history and architectural beauties. Now when I recall of my own experience, I can also amusingly imagine the experiences of others before me in this building!
What an amazing building. We ate there before going to see Les Mis a few months ago. I thought it was beautiful then.
How did we go from building such beautiful buildings. With amazing craftsmanship. To throwing up mdf. Glass an metal clad eyesores we build today.
I agree Colin
Thank you, Martin. My dad would have loved to see it now. He worked in the offices in the 1970s
Thanks Clair, yes its great that you can just go in. So your dad was a Refuge assurance employee 👌
@@MartinZero That's right!
Posted my comment before the end of the video the clock tower was amazing and I love that little historical area around the Salisbury pub.. steeped in history "little Ireland" something inspiring about that area...
What a mind blowing building, thank you so much for bringing this to our screens Martin! 👌
Thanks Adam, yes I agree, Mind blowing
Thanks for playing the Danse Macabre so many times. Now it will be stuck in my head forever.
Good, its a great tune
Worked there when it became a hotel from 2013 - 2015 and in 1993 when it was the Charterhouse. 2/3 of the hotel was deralict. I work on both occasions as night porter and we load of problems with break ins.
Grand staircase I've heard about 4 different stories now a fifth. One it was the wife of one of the directors caught her husband having a affair so though her self over the edge. Second is the mistress throw her over the banister when the director dumped her. Third was a clerk running late was caught and fired for using the staircase, who in reply jumped over and the last is that when they was installing a bath they were hoisting it up the staircase, rope broke and it fell all they way down, there are dents from near the top floor.
Hi Andrew, yeah I reckon there are many versions to that Ghost story, just thought I would mention one version. Must have been eerie when part of the place was derelict
Crazy as it may sound after exploring such a magnificent building, but the bit that touched me the most was the bees on the clockface. What a stunning detail. We couldn't build a building like that if we tried these days. I can pretty much guarantee that no modern built building will still be standing in 100 hundred years and look as good as this.
'I could just crack out a cup of tea.' I think that's the most British and northern thing I've ever heard. 👍🤣 Another great video Martin.
Best drink of the day 😆👍
Had to go there for some interviews / exams back in the late 90’s. All done in a day in different rooms. I remember getting quizzed in a small side room, onto another side room for some mind boggling tests on a computer, then a couple of exams in a bigger room overlooking a railway. I was only in my late teens so had no opinion of the building apart from it being a bit fancy. The day left my mind frazzled. Didn’t get through to the next stage of the process. I must visit again one day after seeing this vid now I appreciate it all
I think I have been on similar days. yeah go back, you can just go in for a drink
Another great informative vlog Martin. The wealth of that period just pours out in the architecture of these buildings and its great that someone had the foresight to develop it and save it from the demolition guys.
wow -- So Clean - everywhere -- no pigeon nests - wall tiles all shining , clock tower too not a speck of anything not built to be there - really glad they kept the safe's - just amazing -- thanks
Yes Roy its such a great place and well preserved
Outstanding work.
2nd floor safes
The weight wow ! !
Strong floors.
Well done Martin.
Another great video Martin. I was there when you were videoing laying out the flags for our St George's Day Lunch, I didn't realise it was you. As I lived in Collyhurst in the 1950-60's I found the videos of the area brought back long forgotten memories. I look forward to more of these videos around Manchester, hope you keep up this great series.
Another wonderful historic tour of one of Manchester's amazing buildings Martin! 👌 I LOVE the fact that the workers had entertainment while they had their dinner break!! 😁 and I love the outdoor seating area that's been made - I must go for a brew and a bun sometime!!! Beautifully edited 👍🐝
Martin, it is refreshing to see someone engage with their locale. Your interest and enthusiasm is contagious. Kudos for good videos and interesting views of Manchester.
Thanks very much Dale
Another Wow Martin, what a treat that was and what a building, loved the brick work and the grand staircase almost reminded me of Gringottes out of Harry Potter. Thanks for sharing keep the good work up 😁😁😁
I’ve never been to Manchester except switching trains at Picadilly station one summer afternoon in 1989. But this hotel is on my bucket list now, such a fantastic and indeed ”grand” building. In your vids you tell the story of Manchester with such passion and engagement I wish I was mancunian too, and to some extent I guess I am now with the knowledge you pass on. Thank you for such great entertainment.
Thanks very much, come back and visit
Brilliant subject Martin and what a culture contrast from railway tunnels and culverts to the great engineering wonders and the opulance of this building. Many many thanks for a wonderful trip around this incredible building. Always enjoy your vids.
Thank you very much John
One man and a video camera can produce short documentaries on a par with (if not better than) the proffesionals. Another great video Martin...
My favourite building in Manchester! Excellent video!
Thank you, yes its my favourite as well
refuge has and will always be one of my favourites in manchester, what a stunning piece of architecture!
Love your enthusiasm and your passion for Manchester. It shows in all of your work. Beautiful building.
Thanks Sharon, yeah i do get a bit giddy
Awesome and really exciting video ! I’m smiling just as much you were in Vid pal!👍
Thanks Jowad, great place 😀
Thanks Martin. I've walked past that building so many times and wondered what it was like inside. Thank you!...and keep them coming!!
Thank you Tony
Wow, absolutely stunning. You're right they don't make buildings with that much detail anymore. When they put their minds to it, God did they do it with every detail so precise. Xx
Perfection. Your videos are so well done, Sir! Thanks for the delightful tour!
I remember that building from back in the 70's when I was a kid. Mam used to bring me to Manchester to go shopping. We lived in heywood. It always caught my eye, even as a child. Such a stunning piece of architecture. Haven't been able to go to Manchester for years now as we relocate to Dublin in '77. The video makes me want to return. So home sick again.😊
Hi Andrew yes it totally dominates the area, you should pop back for a visit
MDCCCXCIII is 1893 in Roman Numbers
Ahh ok thanks
Nicely Done!
Just when I was thinking "it's been a while ......
I have been in this building!! Back in the early 90's we were putting fibre optic cables in and we had the run of the basement for a couple of days.
It was one awesome statement of power! Back then there was a sprung dance floor where the dining area was. Unfortunately it had swollen due to water ..... to the extent the centre of the floor was a good yard higher than the perimeter! A sad end as it was plainly un-recoverable! The kitchen area you must have gone through was equally impressive .... I remember the tiling being Green (but I may have been mistaken). There was an entrance to the area down the side via a staircase and we were told it was used as a Dance Club during WW2 ..... I also remember looking out over the Medlock but can't remember the long promenade you showed!
Amazing what you know but don't always realize it!
Hi dave yes there were a few other places I wanted to go see but couldnt unfortunately
God that Staircase! 😍 makes me want to go & get some pics right now 🙂 Thanks Martin that’s a lovely upload
The brickwork is absolutely perfect. I would love to visit there.
Yes its a thing of beauty
Excellent Martin! Absolutely splendid building from start to finish 😁👍🏻
🇪🇪
Brilliant brought back special memories worked at the Refuge from 1972 to 1979 started in the general accounts department and worked on the Main Reception beautiful building
I wondered what I was going to do while I have my Sunday Dinner. Uploaded just at the right time. Another great video, great music .... can't wait for the next one.
Cheers hope dinner was good
@@MartinZero Dinner was good, but not as good as your video. Thoroughly enjoyable; your video, not my dinner, that is.
Even as a kid with no interest in history, buildings or architecture that place always looked so grand and impressive just going past it on foot or on the bus from town, thanks for showing us around. Very fitting music as well.
Another cracking video Martin!
Thanks very much. Must admit I have walked past many times myself so it was great to go inside
Great video Martin, please hurry with the next one - always looking forward to you uploading!
Thank you, working on the nex,t now 👍
A magnificent building. I saw Gilbert & Sullivan as a kid in the theatre there in the late 60's. I always remembered its grandeur.
Nice one Martin been past many times and admired the architecture never been inside till today with you👀👀thanks. Will you get round to looking round the Rylands library?
andy haigh yep Rylands Library is like something out of a dream / Harry Potter movie - stunning building- so many buildings are treasures in Manchester 💕
@@sandmanjono1239 We had a look around John Rylands Library a year or so back. I had walked past that beautiful weirdo Gothic building for years and it took me decades to actually get to look inside.
This would be a great video!!
Rylands grave is in southern cemetery. Worth a look or google.
Central library would be good as well.
Stayed there last year to watch a show at the Palace. Beautiful building, rooms and as so well looked after.
Excellent history Martin. Brilliant videography and editing as well 😀👍
Another Superb production Martin, what a beautiful building, the Victorians really took pride in their architecture & knew how to make their buildings look imposing, a complete contrast to many of today's boring office blocks! I love all the multi coloured glazed brickwork inside, a similar style to many of the London Underground stations.
Impressive staircase & safe strongrooms too.
Back in the 1970's my mum had a couple of life assurance policies with the Refuge, including a childs one for me! I can still remember the little booklets which were signed by the 'assurance man', when he made the monthly visit to collect the premiums. The company went through several name changes & takeovers & eventually became what is now 'Royal London', I've still got a policy with them today!
Wow, I remember our Insurance man as well he was called Brian . But yes a fabulous building
Back then, people actually care about what they crafted and saw it as a piece of art. Unlike today where everything is kept simple for profit. :(
Truly stunning. The level of craftsmanship and effort put into that building is nothing short of amazing!
So excited to see your new video! I was about to have Martin/Manchester withdrawal lol
Ha, thanks Scott, more to come 👍
Hello again from Mukilteo, Wa, USA - What I love about your explorer videos is the fact that you not just doing just video where you're at but you attempt to give us as much history as you know. That for me as someone who has never been to Manchester an idea of what it is like to be there and the history surrounding it. Thanks again!
Thank you Jason really appreciate it
Does anyone else suddenly want to watch an episode of Johnathon Creek?
yes :)
I did expect Alan Davies to show up. .. ;)
Or the ancient cartoon of the dancing skeletons they used to show on TV sometimes. That's how I first heard that music.
😀👍
What a fantastic guided tour..I cannot help thinking that the great ALAN TURING, who loved Oxford Street / Road must have have passed through here many times. Thanks again. Long live Manchester. Greetings from the Philippines.
Thanks Elizabeth yes am sure Alan saw this building lots of love to the Phillipines
My first job as a motor insurance clerk after leaving school in 1972.
I kind of appreciated the architecture but found it intimidating. There were elegant lifts with maroon uniformed lift operators. Minions were not permitted to use the lifts so I trudged up & down those stairs doing the filing & taking the post.
Used to work here, there was a snooker table under the stage and it was a ballroom before a dining area
I have no connection to Manchester as I live in Boston, MA but I love your balance of history, video and wit. Thansk for making your city turn to life for outsiders!
Thanks very much Jamie
Fabulous building and yet another example of the Victorians "doing it right", unless you were poor of course. Thanks for another insightful look at our city Martin.
I worked in the Refuge building from 1961 until the company moved to a purpose built building in Wilmslow in 1987. I have great memories of working in that beautiful building.
Wow Norman, I wish I had talked to you before this video
Good to see these old buildings preserved and repurposed, In the U.S. such a building would have been torn down and turned to a parking lot.
Cycled countless times past this building in the 90s when I was at the poly. Was pretty run down then. Amazing to see inside in such glory. Thanks for your time and effort in bringing it to a wider public, Martin!
Thank you Simon
STUNNING ! Absolutely stunning ..... what a beautiful building . Such beautiful materials used everywhere and the craftsmanship is just outstanding. I think this is my favourite video so far from start to finish . Being s bricky I was blown away by all the brickwork, especially the clock . When you showed the that amazing chandelier near the start I was distracted by the flawless white glazed brickwork behind 😍. The best part is it’s a hotel which we can all see .... not hidden away like many other treasures 👌🏼thanks Martin 👍🏼🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱
Thanks Guys, I thought you may appreciate that brickwork 😀👌
YEP ! absolutely 👌🏼👍🏼🧱
Man the amount of times I’ve walked past this building and never known... your videos make me appreciate manny so much more mate, hidden history!! Thanks so much
Apologies for taking some time to watch this. This really showcases the grand building's we all drive past every day, but never have a clue whats behind the doors. Brilliant mate, regards Paul.
Such a pity that we don't seem to be able to build like this nowadays. This just shows what buildings can be - not just functional but also something to admire.
An absolutely beautiful building and top marks to the hotel management for giving you permission to show it to us👌
What an beautiful building, the size of some of the rooms is amazing. Another wonderful video please keep them coming. Cheers from Tasmania, Australia 😊
Thanks Catherine, yes a gem this one
A very enjoyable tour of a stunning Manchester building and legacy as to the craftsmanship of the day. When I first came to Manchester to do my degree it was this particular building with its Italianate look that always drew my eye as I trudged up Oxford Road. I remember thinking how they had even made the brackets ornate that are holding the downpipes to the wall. So glad they didn't let the developers/wreckers get anywhere near it. A wonderful transformation into a class hotel which will grace Manchester for years to come.
We popped in for a drink last night. I had to have a look around. I asked one of the staff a question and he very kindly took us around and gave us a little tour. Very impressed with the building it’s a must see
Ahh thats good
What a well put together and interesting video. I've been past there many times and not given it much thought, I certainly will next time. Fascinating to see the Medlock winding its way through the buildings almost like the Colorado in the Arizona mountains. That view from the balcony is as beautiful to me as anywhere in the world. Manchester, the city that taught the world how to work.
Love it ....just love this video......pass the refuge many times but never been inside...thanks for sharing this and thanks to the hotel for allowing you to share this.....I have looked at the clock hundreds of times and only now did I realise the bees on the clock.....wonderful stuff.....👍
Another WOWZERS!! from me... Been busy with family recently and have missed relaxing with you on your wonderful trips around my old stomping ground... Well now, the iconic, majestic, magical Refuge Assurance building that dominated my comings and goings in Manchester for a good many years... I thoroughly enjoyed The Tour and being able to take in the opulence and grandeur that once was and is still... Thank you again for your time and for sharing with us... Looking forward to the next adventure......
Thank you Sylvia
What a wonderful building, they don't build them like that anymore, thanks for showing us around, it was very interesting Martin
Thanks very much Craig
That was such a treat! Thank you Martin for letting us see what people walk by every day yet do not necessarily realize its inner beauty. I agree it is a jewel,and while most workers of the age lived harsh lives,we can still relish in this ornate building. I am doing my best to come see Manchester this coming year, and man that burger looks amazing! We should do a repeat. Lol
Yeah its a real hidden Gem, the place is so big its kinda ironically easy to ignore
You have made Manchester one of my bucket list items
Thanks Michael. Hope you enjoy if you visit
A fascinating look at a well known yet little known about building delivered with that infectious enthusiasm. Another gem Martin.
Thanks very much Nick
Late one afternoon back in 2018 I was given the job of delivering Printed Pamphlets to a hotel in Manchester. It was this place!! I entered the building from the rear service area. I took a couple of left and rights and came out in the reception area. WOW!!!! That was my initial reaction. Staggering!. I literally gawped everywhere amazed by the size and grandure of it all. Like you I felt positively underdressed in my workwear. Having watched your video and seen much more of this place, Im thankful I got sent there that one afternoon now. :-)
Yes I agree, that was my reaction. Wow !!! Cheers
Stayed here on Thu and Friday night...
What a place .Highly recommended
What a building.
Next to the Central Library this is my favourite building in Manchester. We used to go past on the bus when I was a kid in the 60's and I always wanted to go in. Thanks Martin!
Thanks Stuart, yeah I love some of those buildings in town
I stayed there when it was named the Palace Hotel and indeed it was a fitting name for it. I remember an area full of large safes which we walked through on our way to our room which had an extremely high ceiling and tall windows. Fascinating place and we should be thankful that a hotel company had a vision as to what it could be and thus saved a wonderful building.
Yes am glad its a hotel, at least we can go in and look
We queued outside there on Friday night when we went to see Gary Numan at the Ritz. That whole area seemed so familiar after watching so many of your brilliant videos.
Martin I loved this video!! I have always been fascinated with the history of (well, everything, to be honest) buildings especially when I can see the layers of change which give hints to what they once might have been - this is a wonderful journey! I loved the stories, the architecture, the opulence from what was once derelict and even your special effects were brilliant (loved the images in time with the music and the particular way you did the time lapse with traffic moving in front of the facade of the building! If I was giving a review it would be 5 star!! Thank you! x
Thank you so very much. really appreciate your comment. I love this building 😀👍
I had my wedding reception in this hotel, and stayed in one of the suites really is an awesome building...
Yeah its lovely
Just another absorbing video of the legacy of our great industrial past. Wasn't sure this was a video for me but as always totally hooked by the subject and your presentation. Thanks once again Martin.
Thanks very much Ray yes fascinating building