Arndale Centres were the first "American style" malls to be built in the United Kingdom. In total, 23 Arndales have been built in the United Kingdom, and three in Australia. The first opened in Jarrow, County Durham, in 1961, as a pedestrianised shopping area. History Shortly after the end of World War II, Arnold Hagenbach, a baker with a talent for property investment, and Sam Chippendale, an estate agent from Otley, set up a company called the Arndale Property Trust, the name being a portmanteau of "Arnold" and "Chippendale". The trust purchased Bradford's Victorian Swan Arcade in 1954, with the intention of demolishing it and developing a new shopping centre, but it took eight years before leases expired and building work could commence, so in the meantime it developed a site in Jarrow, County Durham, which became the first Arndale Centre when it opened in 1961. Its trademark Viking statue, built by the Trust, was unveiled on 17 February 1962. When the Wandsworth Arndale opened in 1971, it was the largest indoor shopping space in Europe. The largest Arndale Centre built was Manchester Arndale. It was redeveloped from 1996, after being badly damaged in an IRA bombing, and the centre has been owned by Prudential since December 1998. Criticism Arndale Centres attracted criticism on aesthetic grounds as they replaced old buildings – often of the Victorian period – with modern concrete constructions, often in a brutalist style. The value of the Wandsworth Arndale was maximised by the high rise tower blocks built on top of the mall, which helped it to become, according to some commentators, "one of London’s great architectural disasters". List of Arndale Centres United Kingdom Aberdeen – now known as Mastrick Shopping Centre Accrington, Arndale House – built in 1961 on Broadway; Arndale Centre opened October 1987 Blackburn Arndale House – demolished in 2008 for the extension of The Mall Blackburn Bolton – now known as Crompton Place Shopping Centre Bradford – now known as Kirkgate Shopping Centre Dartford – now known as Priory Shopping Centre Doncaster – now known as Frenchgate Shopping Centre Eastbourne – now known as The Beacon Jarrow – now known as the Viking Centre Keighley – now known as the Airedale Centre Lancaster – demolished to make way for a market building, later replaced by a Primark store Leeds, Armley – shopping precinct no longer carries a name; shop addresses usually referred