Duckworth & Company Old Trafford Essence Distillery, Chester Road, Stretford

Duckworth & Company was founded in 1885 at 93, Corporation Street, Manchester by William Duckworth, a qualified chemist who lived at Shaw Hall in Flixton. Business increased rapidly and larger premises were soon required away from the polluted atmosphere of central Manchester for the distilling of essences and beverage manufacture. The site selected was on Chester Road, Cornbrook Stretford

Built in 1896 frontage of approximately 300 feet and an average depth of 80 feet providing a total floor space of 145,000 square feet on five floors and basement. The building was designed specifically for the business and housed extensive specialised machinery and apparatus for chemical production with associated laboratories, stores, and offices. While the steel frame was exposed in the more utilitarian areas, the entrance hall and corridors were lined with Sienna marble and the floors tiled with mosaic. Columns, beams, and ceilings received decorative cladding. Some of the original fittings crafted in Spanish mahogany also survived. A booklet brought out when the building was new commented – “An uncommonly stately office building in Chester Road opposite Northumberland Road; red brick, gabled and symmetrical. Note the fine Neo-Victorian style.”