|
 'Welcome Club' - Ruskin Rooms - Knutsford, Cheshire, UK
N 53° 18.414 W 002° 22.414
30U E 541741 N 5906594
The blue plaque is mounted on the wall of The Ruskin Rooms, on Drury Lane in Knutsford.
Waymark Code: WM12XE4
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/01/2020
Views: 4
The blue plaque is mounted on the wall of The Ruskin Rooms building that was erected in 1902 on Drury Lane in Knutsford. The plaque is inscribed as follows; Four white stars
A 'WELCOME CLUB'
for officers of the
American Third Army
was opened in this building by
GENERAL GEORGE S PATTON
Commanding Officer
on 25th April, 1944
prior to participation in the
Liberation of Europe
June 1944 to
May 1945 ( visit link) ( visit link) ( visit link) Another plaque mounted on the building, placed by the Rotary Club of Knutsford, gives the following information; RUSKIN ROOMS
THIS BUILDING WAS ERECTED BY RICHARD HARDING WATT
IN HIS USUAL MEDITERRANEAN STYLE IN 1902
AS A RECREATION AND READING ROOM FOR THE TOWNS PEOPLE
THE ARCHITECT WAS WALTER ASTON.
AMONG THE VARIOUS USES TO WHICH THE BUILDING HAS BEEN PUT
IS AS A FIRE STATION AND AS THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE BRITISH LEGION
IT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY RENOVATED IN 1977.
THE ROTARY CLUB SIGN
ERECTED BY THE ROTARY CLUB OF KNUTSFORD
TO MARK THE 75th ANNIVERSARY OF ROTARY INTERATIONALThe Ruskin Rooms are a Grade II listed building. The description given by British Listed Buildings can be seen at the following link: ( visit link) Richard Harding Watt was a local philanthropist and idealist with a passion for designing buildings. He made his fortune from glove making in Manchester. The Ruskin Rooms are built in eclectic Free Style under Harding Watt’s patronage. The use of white-painted render, curved windows, heavy stone lintels and door surrounds and clay pantiled roofs, provide this group of buildings with its special character. The Rooms were built as reading rooms and a fire station.
As a tribute to John Ruskin, the exterior of the building is inscribed
'Let every dawn of morning be to you as the beginning of life,
and every setting sun be to you as its close'
(from Ruskin’s Lectures on Art 1870)Source: ( visit link) "Watt purchased a derelict tannery on Drury Lane and, inspired by a sketch he made in Damascus, created the Laundry Rooms and Worker houses. It was topped by a veranda with a green tiled, eight sided tower. The building is now a series of cottages. Watt was a fan of John Ruskin and admired his philosophies so when it came to building a social club for the laundry works it was named The Ruskin Recreation Rooms and bore a quote from the works of Ruskin. In 1944 a Welcome Club for officers of the American Third Army was opened in the building by General Patton." Source: ( visit link) ( visit link) ( visit link)
Blue Plaque managing agency: Knutsford Town Council
Physical Address:
Drury Lane, Knutsford, Cheshire, England, UK.
Individual Recognized: Not listed
Web Address: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions: To log an entry for a "Blue Plaque," please try to include a picture of you next to the plaque!
|