It's interesting to note that it was the ship on the coat of arms that caught Manchester's imagination more than the bee. It's a struggle to find any post-World War II buildings, civic or commercial, that display the coat of arms. The grandest of all the representations is, aptly, the one in the Town Hall Extension from 1938 and an epic representation of city pride. There are also bees, ships and city shields on the great buildings of the interwar period such as the Midland Bank (now Hotel Gotham) and Lloyd's Bank (now The Offices, 53 King Street). Perhaps the greatest feast of representation on a commercial building is with the the former Refuge Assurance (now Kimpton Clocktower Hotel) with huge numbers of sailing ships and bees from the coat of arms. My favourite is the stylised terracotta shield and globe from the coat of arms, in a beautiful warped Art Nouveau design, high on St George's House (formerly The YMCA) on Peter Street - see main image. This dates from 1907-11 and the same architects had been involved in London Road Fire Station a year before, which, of course, used all manner of symbolism from the coat of arms. The coats of arms were literally badges of honour and identity. It was almost if businesses, and not just Manchester-owned businesses, wanted to underline how proud they were to build in the city and work with its people. Surprisingly they not only did this on Manchester Corporation (today’s City Council) property but on their own commercial premises.
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