Kimpton Clocktower Hotel (The Refuge), Hulme

What is Kimpton Clocktower Hotel?

Formerly the Refuge Assurance Building, this Grade II* listed red brick and terracotta landmark is one of Manchester’s most iconic buildings. While it sits on the edge of the city centre and Hulme, its imposing presence and the “Refuge” bar inside make it a must-visit for photographers.

Why Shoot Here?

• Victorian Gothic Architecture: The exterior is a masterpiece of Victorian design, featuring a massive clock tower that can be seen from across the city.
• The Winter Garden: Inside, The Refuge features a stunning “Winter Garden” with a glass roof and indoor trees, providing a unique and lush interior setting.
• Industrial-Chic Interiors: The bar area combines original architectural features with modern design, perfect for lifestyle and architectural interior photography.
• Grand Scale: The sheer scale of the building’s hallways and public spaces offers numerous opportunities for dramatic, wide-angle shots.

Best Times to Shoot

• Late afternoon (golden hour, facing south on Oxford Road) — The red brick and terracotta exterior faces roughly south along Oxford Road, catching warm afternoon light from about 14:00 onwards on a clear day. The clock tower — the building’s most distinctive feature — is lit on its south and west faces, revealing the ornate terracotta detailing and casting long shadows along the carved string courses.
• Midday for the Winter Garden interior — The glass-roofed garden section of The Refuge benefits from the overhead sun pushing light through the roof panels. Between 12:00 and 14:00, the indoor trees and planting are lit from above rather than from a harsh angle, giving an even, bright illumination that suits the lush interior aesthetic without deep shadows from the structural frame.
• Evening in the Refuge bar (from 18:00) — The bar area operates a designed warm-light scheme after dark. The combination of Edison-style bulb fixtures, dark timber, and Victorian tile creates pools of warm amber light against deeper shadows — ideal for moody interior and lifestyle photography. Busiest from 19:00 onwards on Friday and Saturday.
• Blue hour from the Oxford Road side — At blue hour, the illuminated clock tower punches against the deep blue sky, and the surrounding lower-level bar lighting gives warmth at street level. Shoot from across the road on Oxford Road to get the full facade with the clock tower as the vertical anchor of the composition.

Composition Ideas

• Full clock tower from Oxford Road — Cross to the far pavement on Oxford Road and use a 35–50 mm lens to frame the full height of the clock tower above the terracotta facade. Include street-level activity — pedestrians, a passing tram on the adjacent route — to give scale and urban context to the building’s Edwardian grandeur.
• Wide-angle Winter Garden — Stand at one end of the glass-roofed garden corridor and use a 16–24 mm lens to capture the full length of the indoor trees, planting, and glass ceiling. The linear perspective of the garden is strong, and the glass panels above provide a structural geometric pattern that frames the organic planting below.
• Grand corridor leading lines — The long, ornate hallways inside Kimpton Clocktower have high ceilings with decorative plasterwork, original tiling, and symmetrical lighting. Stand at one end and shoot toward a door or archway at the far end with a 24–35 mm lens; the ceiling, floor and wall details create convergent leading lines with a strong sense of depth.
• Victorian terracotta close-ups — Use a 50–85 mm lens on the exterior terracotta mouldings and carved panels above street level. The Refuge Assurance Company commissioned bespoke ornamental terracotta for this building; individual panels feature intricate floral and geometric motifs that reward close-up work, particularly in raking late-afternoon light that reveals their three-dimensional relief.