Refuge Assurance Building, Victorian insurance building in central Manchester, England
The Refuge Assurance Building is a Victorian insurance office constructed from red brick and terracotta in central Manchester, distinguished by its tall clock tower. The 217-foot tower sits prominently at the intersection of Oxford and Whitworth Streets, decorated with Manchester bee motifs.
Alfred Waterhouse designed this building in 1891 for the Refuge Assurance Company, one of Britain's major insurance firms at the time. The structure underwent several expansions through the 1930s as the business grew and required more office space.
The Manchester bee carved into the facade symbolizes the city's industrial heritage and civic pride from its cotton-trading past. These symbols remain visible reminders of how the building was tied to local identity and commerce.
Today the building functions as the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel with public access to common areas and a ground-floor restaurant, easily reached from Oxford Street or Whitworth Street. Visitors can view the architectural details from street level or venture inside to see the historic interior spaces.
Two reinforced basement air raid shelters were built into the structure during World War II to protect workers and local residents. These underground spaces remain as physical traces of how the building served the community beyond its original insurance company purpose during the bombing campaigns.
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