I love this decrepit old Manchester building and its
once-fine sign. And its history is more colourful than the sign suggests. In
1723, a group of Spanish steel workers were working their passage to New York.
They stopped in Liverpool and put their steel skills to good use, joining a
company which supplied the maritime trade with iron clad strongboxes and seaman’s
chests. When the Leeds and Liverpool canal was opened, the business expanded
with this store in Withy Grove, Manchester, which opened in 1850, and in Leeds.
The business is still trading today.
