The unknown story behind the Stockport Pyramid and the proposed ‘Valley of the Kings’

You’d be forgiven for feeling a little puzzled over the presence of a pyramid in Stockport, a town renown for its industrial heritage rather than its love of Egyptian architecture. 

But low and behold, there one stands, a poignant reminder of the ambitious vision to create Stockport’s very own glass version of the Valley of the Kings (yes, there was supposed to be five of the bloody things).

Unsurprisingly for the 1980s, the plans for the outlandish design for the first building – submitted by Michael Hyde and Associates and financed by the Cooperative Group – were only ‘narrowly’ passed by Stockport council’s land and property committee. Councillor John Pantall, who was chairman of the committee at the time, said he believed the decision to ‘bring a stand out feature’ to the area was the right one for the town and those looking for work.

I Love Stockport / Facebook

He told the Manchester Evening News: “There were obviously different opinions at the time – as there were on the sub-committee – but we thought getting the imaginative modernistic design was the best solution.

“At the time we didn’t want staid 1960s buildings, I think we had move beyond that, because in the 60s a lot of boring buildings were built and this is one where we thought it would bring life to the area.”

With the plans almost reluctantly approved, the work to bring a very British taste of Egypt to Stockport to what was once Ring Avenue, pre-Second World War social housing that had been recently demolished, got underway in 1987.

It was eventually completed in 1992 but that very year, the original developer went bust, resulting in a unanimous decision being made to ditch the four other proposed pyramids and leave Stockport with just the one.

Smith & Brown / Wikimedia Commons

Despite the anticipation and build up to the singular pyramid, however, Coral Dranfield, former secretary of Stockport Heritage Trust, remembers the building receiving a less than savoury welcome from locals back in the early ’90s, saying: “The reaction to it at the time was that nobody liked it, it was considered a bit of a monster, really.

“But I never thought of it that way, I have always like modern things that are different, so personally I liked it. I think it’s like a lot of things, if it’s been there for a while and somebody came along and said they were going to get rid of it , they would be up in arms.

“That’s what people are like, it slowly becomes part of your environment. It’s so visible from the motorway I think it has become a Stockport landmark. I have always liked it, not everybody has one – how many town’s can you think of that have their own pyramid?”

Very few towns indeed, Coral.

Stockport Council / Wikimedia Commons

Despite the backlash, the pyramid’s main lender, the Co-operative Bank, went ahead and moved in three years after its completion and ran its call centre there for a happy couple of decades right up until last year.

However, the bank itself nearly collapsed in 2013 after falling into massive financial difficulties, leading to many locals nicknaming the area ‘The Valley of Death’.

But, in true Mancunian fashion, the Pyramid has remained standing tall in the face of scrutiny, adversity, and several close calls with financial ruin over the years.

I, for one, hope it sticks around for the next couple of thousands of decades much like it’s Egyptian cousins in Cairo.