Rediscovered plans show FOUR Stockport Pyramids and how they might have looked

If there is one landmark in Greater Manchester that has set tongues ablaze since it was first dreamt up its Stockport's Pyramid. And people aren't shy when it comes to expressing their opinions on what they think of it, and what it should be used for.

Built on wasteland next to the River Mersey, overlooking the M60 in Stockport, construction on the pyramid began in the late 1980s, with the building completed in 1992. According to newspaper reports at the time, there were plans for four glass pyramids to be built on the seven-acre Kings Valley, but Stopfordians had to settle for a single pyramid after the developers went into bankruptcy.

As soon as it was completed there was controversy. It promised to create Manchester's own 'Valley of Kings' - a nod to a valley in Egypt where a number of beautifully preserved tombs of royal subjects were found.

However, amateur Egyptologist Irene Rostron, was "mortified", insisting Stockport's Pyramid was Mexican-inspired. Speaking to the Stockport Express in 1992, Irene, who studied historic buildings and ancient civilisations, said: "Hasn't anyone heard of The Step Pyramid of King Zoser?

"It is the most ancient mortuary complex in existence. It was the first large-scale building in the world and it's similar to the Stockport Pyramid."

Irene may well have be right. The newspaper reported that a week earlier, planners had rejected any connection between the design and the Egyptian pyramids "in a bid to lift the 'curse of the pharaohs".

Planners are said to have claimed it was of "Aztec origin" even though they were hanging onto the address "Kings Valley". Meanwhile the architect is said to have agreed there was an influence of both Egyptian AND Mayan about his pyramid.

Try MEN