The Manchester Society of Architects (MSA) has enjoyed a long and distinguished existence in the city. Founded in 1865, the Society is still active today.
The earliest group for architects in Manchester was a short-lived affair which existed between 1837-42. In 1860, the Manchester Architectural Association was established. In 1865, a group of leading Manchester architects including Isaac Holden, William Mangnall, Alexander Mills and James Stevens decided that new group was needed which would be more actively directed to defending their professional interests. A meeting was held at the Clarence Hotel, Manchester in April 1865, and this approved an organising committee for the new group. The Manchester Society of Architects then held its inaugural meeting in June 1865. The MSA’s first president was Holden, with Alfred Waterhouse as vice-president (Waterhouse was based in Manchester, but enjoyed a national reputation) and James Murgatroyd as the honorary secretary.
Like other professional associations of the time, the main objectives of the MSA included regularising the standards of their profession, both in terms of qualifications and professional practice. This meant more clearly defining who could properly call themselves architects. It also promoted a code of practice and agreed scale of charges for its membership, and arbitrated in disputes between architects and employers. In this, the MSA worked closely with the national organization for architects, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
The Society promoted architectural education, encouraging young architects and promoted improved systems of training and examination. It supported architectural competitions for trainee architects and helped educate architectural assistants. The Society was also a lobby for the profession; one of its main ambitions was to regularise Manchester’s system of building bye-laws, something which finally achieved in 1890. Other work included improving the standards of public competitions for new buildings and encouraging better relations with builder’ groups, such as the Manchester branch of the General Builders’ Association. The Society also built up a library.
In 1887, RIBA changed its charter allowing provincial societies to federate, something which the MSA did. The MSA's success indicated that Manchester could not sustain two separate organisations for architects, and in 1890, the Manchester Architectural Association, which focussed less exclusively on professional standards and was not affiliated to RIBA, agreed to merge with the MSA. New bye-laws were issued in 1891, with the Society’s membership then standing 130 individuals.
The Society did not have an established base until the early twentieth century when it purchased a lease at the Geographical Building, St Mary’s Parsonage, using the bequest of a former president, Alexander Mills. It remained at this location until 1963. In the inter-war period, the Society improved conditions for its student members, began to admit women members, and also supported public lectures on architectural topics. It established a joint consultative committee with Manchester, Salford and District Building Trades Employers Association. The Society also worked more closely with town planners. In 1960, it supported the creation of the Manchester Building Centre in Portland St. Manchester, which brought together architects, quantity surveyors and builders.
The Society moved its headquarters to this location in 1963. In 1962, the Society revised its constitution in line with RIBA requirements introducing a more formal committee structure. RIBA members in Manchester were automatically registered as members of the MSA.
Following the reorganisation of the RIBA into thirteen regions in 1967, the RIBA North West Region opened its headquarters at Knutsford in Cheshire. The MSA became one of the Region's seven branches in 1969, being known officially as 'Manchester Society of Architects - a branch of the RIBA'. Although retaining some autonomy, the Society receives an annual grant from the RIBA and is responsible to the central RIBA Council through the North West Regional Council, to which it sends three representatives. This council meets monthly and is constituted by equal representation from each of the seven branches in the region.
The changes made in the 1960s to subscription rules mean that all members of the RIBA in the Greater Manchester area are automatically members of the Manchester Society of Architects. Around half of the RIBA members in the North West Region as a whole are members of the MSA. Elections to the council of the Society are held annually by postal ballot of all corporate RIBA members of the Manchester branch. One third of the council are elected annually and members serve for three year periods. Officers such as President, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, and such other posts as are deemed necessary are elected annually from among the members of the council.
The activities and concerns of the Society since 1969 reflect a continued interest in such central issues as professional standards and services, conservation and the urban environment, and education and training in the field of architecture, as well as in promoting the status of the profession as a whole. In 1977 the Society stated that "within the RIBA North West region the aims of the Manchester Society remain, namely, `to support and protect the character, status and interest of architects practising in, or in the vicinity of Manchester, and to promote personal acquaintance and good feeling between members of the Society.'" MSA/ADD/1/2/2/7,
Since the regional reorganisation of the RIBA, however, the responsibility for providing professional help to architects has been taken over to a large extent by the RIBA North West Region which has a secretariat of permanent staff, giving it an advantage over the Manchester Society which has no salaried employees, being wholly run by honorary officers. The MSA has also been squeezed from below with the formation in the 1970s of two local chapters which receive a grant from the Society, and which enable architects to meet in their own locality rather than in the centre of Manchester.
Despite this, the Society continues to be active in the city and membership currently stands at 900.
The Society maintained its archive at its premises until they were transferred to the University Library in the 1970s. Following the initial deposit of archives catalogued by Alison Kenney, this subsequent collection of additional material was deposited by the MSA in the Library in early 1994.
A library register of the Manchester Society of Architects was discovered at the Kantorowich Library at the University of Manchester Humanities Brigford Street Building. It was transferred to the collection on the closure of the Library in 2022.
Accruals expected.
Extensive archive of the Manchester Society of Architects. The archive dates from the foundation of the Society and includes the records of the Manchester Architectural Association with which the MSA merged in 1890-1.
The archive includes minutes of the Society's Council, general meetings and sub-committees (with some gaps for the early period), annual reports and Kalendars, a modest collection of financial records, and membership records. There are also records relating to the Society's educational initiatives including minutes of education in architecture committee, 1891-1951 and student examinations and travel grants. There are also papers relating to professional practice, and relations with RIBA, other architectural societies, trade bodies and public agencies. There are some records relating to the Society's library.
Professional practice records include the Society's campaign to regularise Manchester's building bye-laws, and devising protocols for public competitions. There is also a small group of records relating to the reconstitution of the Society in 1890-1.
The more recent accrual of archives (MSA/ADD) consists largely of general subject files compiled during the routine day-to-day running of the Society. These files contain correspondence and other material, such as council and committee papers, circulars and leaflets, appertaining to every aspect of the Society's activities. In addition there are some volumes containing minutes and accounts.
A further accrual consisted of a library register for the Manchester Society of Architects.
The original accession of the Society's archive was arranged in the early 1990s, and it is unclear to what extent original order was preserved. Records were arranged into four functional groupings (MSA/1-MSA/4) for administration, education, professional standards and reconstruction of the Society in 1890-1, plus a separate section for the Manchester Architectural Association's archive (MSA/5). These groups were then organised into constituent series. The arrangement of the original archive tended to avoid further sub-division into subseries, and hence in some cases, single series may include different genres of records based on a similar subject matter.
The accruing archive arrived at the library in 18 boxes. Some of these contained files and bundles while others were filled with loose papers, in no apparent order. Some of the files from the period 1976-1983 appeared to be part of an original filing system, being numbered and arranged by subject. Other files and bundles had apparently been put together retrospectively and labelled with the relevant subject and dates. The records had presumably been created by various different officers, since it is customary for the Honorary Treasurer to keep financial records, the Secretary to keep administrative and council records, and so on.
It therefore proved impossible to reconstruct a coherent original filing system, although original files have been kept intact as far as possible and the original order of documents within them retained. In other cases bundles of material on related subjects have been created by the archivist. Throughout the list, all items are original files created by the Society except where stated otherwise, and original file titles have been used wherever they exist. The term `bundle' is applied to papers which have been grouped together by the archivist.
The material has been arranged into subfonds according to the main functions within the
Society, although records created after 1983 have been allotted a separate subgroup
since they are sparse and not easily slotted into other categories. The subgroups are as
follows:
Manchester Society of Architects Archive, MSA/ADD/1/1/1/4 (etc.), The University of Manchester Library.
The collection is open to any accredited reader.
The collection includes material which is subject to the Data Protection Act 2018. Under the Act 2018 (DPA), The University of Manchester Library (UML) holds the right to process personal data for archiving and research purposes. In accordance with the DPA, UML has made every attempt to ensure that all personal and sensitive personal data has been processed fairly, lawfully and accurately. Users of the archive are expected to comply with the Data Protection Act 2018, and will be required to sign a form acknowledging that they will abide by the requirements of the Act in any further processing of the material by themselves.
Open parts of this collection, and the catalogue descriptions, may contain personal data about living individuals. Some items in this collection may be closed to public inspection in line with the requirements of the DPA. Restrictions/closures of specific items will be indicated in the catalogue.
Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents.
A number of items within the archive remain within copyright under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; it is the responsibility of users to obtain the copyright holder's permission for reproduction of copyright material for purposes other than research or private study.
Prior written permission must be obtained from the Library for publication or reproduction of any material within the archive.
The finding aid for the initial accession has been published: Alison Kenney,
The University holds papers of architects associated with the Society including: Thomas
and Percy Worthington (GB 133 WOR) and the architectural academic Reginald Cordingley
Manchester Central Library has a set of RIBA North West Region Directories dating from 1984 to the present, which contain some information on the MSA and architectural matters in the region.
The Society's historic library is in the custody of Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections.
Comprises main administrative series, including minutes of Council and general meetings, annual reports and kalendars, financial records, and membership records including nominations and subscriptions.
General meetings, 1879-1964, Council meetings 1912-1969 (earlier minutes believed lost), plus junior committed (House, Trustees, War Executive)
War Executive 1939-1940; Finance 1946.
Album of photographs and biographies of presidents 1865-1898; list of presidents, 1896-1907.
Notices of meetings.
Bundle relating to attendance at meetings.
Mainly the annual reports and Kalendars (an almost complete run but some gaps). Annual reports from 1893 are published in the Kalendar. The Kalendars were annual publications which contained annual reports, president's addresses, prospectuses, lists of members etc. after 1900/1, they did not include reports of lectures, and from 1930/1 to 1940/1 they included a library catalogue.
Correspondence re publication of MSA annual reports and members' lists
Includes cash books, ledgers, statements of account and expenditure.
For annual dinners, studentships, subscriptions.
Refunded to members of RIBA.
Mainly the 'Address to architectural students', 1875 and 1888 (book list and prospectus).
Includes arrangements with Ford Madox Brown and Alfred Waterhouse for a visit to Manchester Town Hall, 1876-79.
Letters relating to student meetings, including lists of meetings and a report of the students' committee.
Includes lists of speakers, meetings, reports and correspondence concerning RIBA prize drawings.
Includes student competitions, RIBA school prizes, and student poster competition on post-war housing.
Papers including speakers, lists of visits and accounts.
Papers including lectures, examinations and student grants.
Papers including regulations, lists of applicants and examiners, reports and examination papers, student papers in languages, drawing etc.
Letters from students and RIBA officers.
Includes prospectuses and lists of applicants.
Letters from students and Council members.
Papers including regulations and reports.
Letters from travelling Students and Council members.
Includes prospectuses and committee reports.
Includes a list of books presented by John Holden in 1891, letters and papers regarding the Alexander W Mills bequest, 1906/7, and plans for possible premises for the Society.
Letters and papers relating to drawings and photographs submitted to international exhibitions.
Papers relating to RIBA conferences, 1874-90, and National Association for the promotion of Social Science conference 1879.
Papers relating to the Royal Architectural Museum and School of Art, London, 1876, and Sidebotham's proposed museum of building appliances in Manchester, 1885.
Council and general meetings relating to professional standards,
Papers relating to builders practising as architects, model contracts, methods of taking quantities. Individual cases including James Holden v Manchester Cathedral.
Includes extracts from Council and general meetings, letter proposing bye-laws, including Society's own proposals in 1873 and 1877, J Holden's paper 'Building bye-laws from
Correspondence with Manchester town clerk, Withington board of guardians, professional societies, petitions and memoranda re. bye-laws including papers on Manchester bye-laws 1876 and memorandum on "Corporation architecture" 1884 MSA and Manchester and Salford Sanitary Association papers on bye-laws 1887.
Letters and papers including prospectuses and report on a dispute at Douglas, Isle of Man 1878.
Letters and papers re. non-metropolitan members of RIBA.
Papers relating to boundaries between provincial architectural societies.
Includes bills, reports and petitions.
/1-54 includes papers on brick making machines 1859-69 and smoke prevention in public buildings, 1886-1890.
/1-13 letters and papers.
/1-92, letters and papers.
Include changes to the Association’s objectives.
Concerning the bequest of Alexander Mills. [see also MSA/2/6/5].
Death certificates of members, grants of probate, cemetery receipts.
Founded in 1860, the MAA predated the Manchester Society of Architects. In 1890-1, it amalgamated with the MSA.
The council of the Society meets on a monthly basis, usually holding ten or
eleven meetings a year. It is made up of around 18 members, with the chairman
and elected members of the RIBA Regional Council sitting as
This series contains volumes, files and bundles of council minutes and records of those present at meetings. The minutes include committee and chapter reports, matters relating to the RIBA, and reflect the general activities of the Society.
Typewritten minutes pasted into hardback volume.
Handwritten lists and signatures of members present at council, committee and annual general meetings.
Typewritten minutes.
Hardback notebook containing handwritten minutes and notes.
Taken from ring binder containing typewritten minutes.
Hardback notebook containing handwritten minutes.
Typewritten minutes pasted into hardback volume.
Also contains some material relating to the 1983 Society newsletter.
Files of material relating to annual council elections.
MSA/ADD/1/1/2/6 is a bundle.
Papers relating to the Society's AGM, including minutes and correspondence.
Typewritten minutes pasted into hardback volume.
Typewritten minutes pasted into hardback volume.
This series consists of general council papers, such as circulars, correspondence, committee reports, ballot papers, and lists of members.
MSA/ADD/1/1/4/3, 7, and 9 are bundles.
The Honorary Secretary is elected annually from among the Council members, and deals with much of the day to day administration of the Society.
This series includes papers relating to almost every aspect of the Society, including general administrative procedures, miscellaneous enquiries from the public, general correspondence, and information on various activities such as lectures and exhibitions. MSA/ADD/1/2/1/1 contains papers concerning the lease, premises and equipment of 115 Portland Street, where the Manchester Society of Architects was based between 1964 and 1970, and which was the Society's last permanent home. MSA/ADD/1/2/1/3 (the House Committee file) includes material on premises and on the co-ordination of committees and events.
MSA/ADD/1/2/1/4, 13, and 16 are bundles, and MSA/ADD/1/2/1/13 and 14 have been divided into two folders.
This series contains material relating to the RIBA North West Region Yearbook, Directory and monthly newsletter. Prior to the early 1980s, the Yearbook included a section on the activities of each local RIBA branch, including the MSA, together with lists of architectural practices in the area. All entries from the MSA are co-ordinated by the Honorary Secretary.
The files and bundles include correspondence, photographs, and details of practices and recent projects to be included in the publications.
Since the regional reorganisation of the RIBA, the MSA has been in receipt of an annual grant from the Regional Council. This forms only a small proportion of MSA funding. Other funding comes from various events held by the Society and from investment income. The Honorary Treasurer usually holds the financial records, which consist of correspondence relating to financial matters, treasurer's reports, and accounts, statements, invoices and receipts of various kinds.
MSA/ADD/1/3/1/1 and 3 are bundles.
Large bound volume, with written entries 1954-1978, and inserted photocopied sheets showing income and expenditure up to 1985.
Hardback cash book showing expenses for MSA lunches.
Two files of assorted invoices and receipts.
Containing minutes of the Joint Finance and Constitution Committee.
Containing minutes, reports and correspondence relating largely to the Finance and Policy Committee.
According to the constitution of the MSA approved in 1970 and amended in 1979, there are four categories of membership: corporate, student, honorary and subscriber. The records listed here reflect relations between different types of member, as well as providing information on specialised groups, the local chapters, activities and social events enjoyed by members, and the constitution of the Society.
Files comprised of membership-related committee papers, lists of members, correspondence with members and enquiries regarding membership.
This series contains only 1 item: the constitution file, containing material on proposed revisions to the constitution of the MSA.
The two chapters of the MSA (the Wigan, Bolton and Bury Chapter and the Stockport and Tameside Chapter) were set up in the 1970s, and receive a grant from the MSA Council, allowing architects to meet and administer affairs in their own locality. Each chapter annually nominates one member to serve on the MSA Council.
Correspondence, minutes and papers relating to the meetings and activities of the Solo Practitioners' Group.
Material relating to social events and activities enjoyed by the members of the MSA, particularly the MSA Annual Dinner.
This subgroup reflects the continued concern of the MSA with standards within the architectural profession and the services offered to the public. Nationwide issues, such as architects' fees, are addressed in the series containing RIBA and Group of Eight material, while other series reflect professional issues at a local level, as well as relations with other professions and affiliated organisations.
Files of material largely relating to the RIBA North West Region, such as regional council minutes, correspondence, circulars and pamphlets, covering such topics as professional conduct, architects' fees, finance, and regional boundaries.
MSA/ADD/2/1/2 has been divided into 2 folders.
Material concerning the Group of Eight - a team of construction industry leaders formed to lobby MPs on behalf of the industry, and representing employees, unions, material producers, and professionals. The President of the RIBA is included among its members.
In addition to general professional matters, the papers contained in these files reflect more local concerns, such as the MSA President's Award.
MSA/ADD/2/3/4 has been divided into two folders.
Material reflects professional and technical concerns in the Greater Manchester area, including issues of architects' fees, advertising, planning applications, building legislation, workload, and students' salaries.
Material relates to conservation and historic buildings in Greater Manchester, as well as the Impact Campaign, set up in the late 1970s with the aim of improving the environment and living conditions in the city. It was sponsored by a grant from Greater Manchester Council, and the MSA was involved in the steering committee of the campaign.
Material concerning related professional organisations, such as the Society of Architectural and Associated Technicians; organisations within the architectural profession, such as the Architects' Benevolent Society - a registered charity established to provide gifts and welfare services for architects and their families; and groups both within the MSA itself and with which the MSA is involved, such as the MSA Housing Advisory Group and the North West Arts Civic Trust.
The files contain correspondence, circulars, pamphlets, advertising literature, publications etc.
MSA/ADD/2/6/6 has been divided into 2 folders.
President's Nomination Service papers: arbitration in disputes and recommendations of architects to undertake specific work.
Local government reorganisation file: papers concerning the provision of architectural services after the formation of Greater Manchester Metropolitan County.
Papers relating to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on Architects' and Surveyors' Services with reference to scale fees.
Papers relating to professional issues in general, particularly to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.
Contract Workshop file: papers relating to workshop held on 7 May 1980.
Arts Centre/Film Centre file: concerning the conversion of 1910 church hall premises to an arts and film centre.
The material contained in these files reflects the interest in architectural education expressed by the Society from its earliest days. Student members of the RIBA in the Greater Manchester area automatically become members of the MSA. Traditionally, two student members of the RIBA served on the MSA council - one from each school of architecture in the city. Since the Polytechnic became Manchester Metropolitan University and the two schools merged, there has only been one student member on the council. Although student involvement now is less than it has been in the past the MSA continues to present awards and scholarships to architectural students.
The records also reflect a concern with the provision of help and advice to those interested in entering the architectural field, in the form of correspondence and organised events such as careers symposiums. Continued training for practising architects is also considered an important issue.
Papers relating to exhibitions, lecture programmes, seminars and visits run by the MSA or with which the MSA was involved.
The majority of files in the MSA archive end at 1983. The material created after 1983 contained in this deposit is not very extensive, and was largely found loose, without having been organised into any kind of filing system. Because of the gap in chronology and the miscellaneous nature of the later material, which consists of correspondence and other material relating to diverse subjects, it was decided to create a separate subgroup for these papers.
The papers have been arranged into bundles by year. MSA/ADD/4/1/5 is the only original MSA-created file to exist for this period.
To the MSA Council from the postgraduate students at Manchester Polytechnic - the only item surviving from 1986.
Topics covered include regionalisation, RIBA housing policy and Art Week 1989.
Primarily relating to the National Architecture Conference.
Primarily relating to the Manchester bid for the Olympics in the year 2000.
Papers concerning the Ove Arup Computing Systems Northern Construction Industry Computer Exhibition held at the GMex Centre.
Miscellaneous papers
The library register was discovered during the closure of the Kantorowich Library at the University of Manchester and added to the MSA archive in 2023.
The register is a single volume entitled M.S.A. Library Register, and contains a handwritten ledger of items borrowed and returned. Also included is a letter from Peter Collins at the School of Architecture, Universiry of Manchester dated 29th January 1953 and relating to a request for borrow material from the library.