2-879-139 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

Hornchurch Court, Bonsall Street, Hulme, Manchester, 12/08/1965. A recently completed multi-storey block of 'Sectra' flats in Hulme, probably Hornchurch Court, with a family in the foreground buying from an ice cream van. 'Sectra’ was a French prefabricated steel formwork design for flats which John Laing and Son Ltd acquired the British rights to in 1962. It was a method of using precision made steel formwork for the placing of structural concrete in 'tunnel' sections in room unit widths and ceiling heights. The units were bolted together in rows on special tracks, with the concrete poured to form the walls and floors in one operation. The formwork was internally heated to accelerate the hardening of the concrete in the mould and the sections were then lifted into position by a tower crane on the construction site. Hornchurch Court was the first of three multi-storey blocks that Laing built in Hulme for the City of Manchester to replace 5,000 slum houses. The company started working on the site in October 1964 and finished 18 weeks later with the opening taking place on 10th May 1965. The other two blocks were due for completion at seven-week intervals.