Albert Memorial, Manchester — Gothic Spire Against Overcast Sky

28 September 2019 · Manchester

Manchester's Albert Memorial rises from Albert Square under a heavy, layered sky — the pointed Gothic arch framing the standing figure does the compositional work that most urban monuments only gesture at. Victorian Gothic Revival stone, weathered green at the spire tip, reads against silver cloud with the kind of weight the style was always built to project. The city has grown around it in every direction, but the memorial holds its ground.