Cathedrals everywhere for those with eyes to see.

Modernist Delights is a blog about modernist and brutalist architecture. Find out more.

Moneycentre, Plymouth, 2021

A quiet urban street flanked by mid-rise office buildings and shops, including a sushi restaurant and an amplifier shop with a colourful shutter. A few people walk on the pavement. One car is parked on the street under a clear blue sky.

I was reminded to dig this out of the photo library by this week’s West Country Modernism round-up. The Moneycentre (MWT, 1975), over the years home to various financial and insurance institutions, survived a demolition threat in 2018, changed hands multiple times, and has now been purchased by Homes England.

My own interest in architecture has only developed in the last few years, but clearly something attracted me to it back in 2021 – perhaps the geometrical simplicity of the tiled walls and tinted windows, as seen in this sunlit shot.

76 – 80 Deansgate, Manchester, 2025

A city street with modern and older buildings. Visible venues include BE AT ONE bar with black signage, a bright blue restaurant with pink and red details, and other shops. People walk on the pavement. The sky is clear and the road has bollards.

Pinned by manchesterhistory.net as being circa 1930, which feels about right. At least in the main part of the building, the windows appear to have been refurbished, but retain their original charm and slender frames.

The manchesterhistory.net post references historical photos of the building, but the links have broken – here are the updated links for 1938 and 1976.

Mulberry Street, Manchester, 2025

A two-storey brick building with tall windows, wooden and shingle details, and a decorative green metal archway beside a black garage door. The building is flanked by older red-brick structures and a black streetlamp stands in front. Parked cars line the street.

Walking out of my hotel, I found this charmingly detailed building, featuring horizontal brickwork on the ground floor, and wooden panelling and shingles on the first floor. Appearing to be used as a dwelling, I was surprised to see it amongst much larger, and much older (not least St Mary’s RC Church of 1794, next door but one) buildings, as well as modern 21st century high rises of central Manchester.

Mulberry Passage, which passes underneath it, is also part of a network of passages decorated with public art in tribute to scientist John Dalton.

Preston Magistrates’ Court, 2025

A modern building with white tiles and large windows; a sign above the entrance reads Magistrates' Courts. Yellow doors and a ramp are visible at the front, with reflections of trees in the glass. The pavement is marked with yellow lines.
A large, windowless white-tiled building with narrow vertical windows on the left side; a white railing runs along the front, with concrete columns below. A leafy tree partially covers the left side, and a pavement and road are visible in front.
A modern, rectangular white building with vertical narrow windows in staggered rows. The facade is covered with rectangular tiles, and part of the upper corner is open. The sky is overcast and grey.
Entrance to a building with double glass doors, a sign reading Area Training Suite First Floor, and a metal plaque on the wall. The plaque lists the County Borough of Preston and council information. The area is shaded and concrete.

Never has the difference between the original and later additions has been so stark as in the frontage of this one, not least in that ill-typeset, ill-positioned sign. Take a look around the back for an example of some much more pleasant signage.