49, Piccadilly

The building was originally constructed in 1846–47 for the textile firm J. P. and E. Westhead. It was rebuilt after a fire in 1850 and later given a mansard roof between 1886 and 1917. From 1892 the ground floor was occupied by the Manchester & County Bank, which established a branch on the Piccadilly frontage. The bank remained in the building until 1931, during which time it commissioned Mills & Murgatroyd to carry out alterations in 1928, likely updating the ground‑floor banking accommodation. By 1917 the premises were occupied by Chorlton Brothers, clothiers, continuing its long association with the textile trade. The building is also known as Piccadilly House in its modern commercial…

The building is constructed of red brick with sandstone elements and has a slate roof. It is a long, deep rectangle in a simplified Italianate style. It rises five full floors with an attic above, and its front is arranged around seven evenly spaced windows. The design is balanced, with textured corner details, a plain band beneath the roofline, a decorative cornice, and a brick parapet broken up by stone features and chimneys. A large dormer sits in the attic. Most of the ground floor has been changed over time, apart from a square doorway on the right that keeps its original decorative frame. The upper floors have a regular pattern of windows, all the same height, each set in moulded…