 There are three sets of semi-detached houses by Edgar Wood almost in a row along the west side of Rochdale Road in Middleton. 37 and 39 Rochdale Road were built in 1893 two years before the more famous combination of Fencegate and Redcroft were constructed on an adjacent plot of land. The building has Wood's characteristic bays that pierce through the roof line but, unlike his other houses, it is faced with what John Archer describes as "extremely harsh materials, lobster-red stock engineering type bricks and terra-cotta. The building is separated from the street by an attractive brick and stone wall with a scalloped design which incorporates ornate wrought-iron work.   When I visited in August of 2018, the two halves of the building were in drastically different states of repair. Number 37 looked vacant and boarded up whilst 39 was clearly occupied and cared for.  |
