Visit Manchester

Stockport Hat Works Museum

Attraction | "Hats the Way I Like a Museum"

Quote:

Are you mad as a hatter when it comes to has? Do you feel naked without your beanie, baseball cap or posh wedding hat? I know the ideal place for you. It is Stockport's Hat Works, an award winning attraction which is the only museum dedicated to hats and the hat making industry in Britain.It is appropriate that the museum is in Stockport. Until very recently the town was one of the predominant industries in the area. At its peak in the 19th century it employed 4737 people and exported 6 million hats per year. The hat making industries have now disappeared but they have left a lasting legacy including the Victorian mill it is housed in which is a grade 2 listed building.The Hatworks i...Read More

Are you mad as a hatter when it comes to has? Do you feel naked without your beanie, baseball cap or posh wedding hat? I know the ideal place for you. It is Stockport's Hat Works, an award winning attraction which is the only museum dedicated to hats and the hat making industry in Britain.
It is appropriate that the museum is in Stockport. Until very recently the town was one of the predominant industries in the area. At its peak in the 19th century it employed 4737 people and exported 6 million hats per year. The hat making industries have now disappeared but they have left a lasting legacy including the Victorian mill it is housed in which is a grade 2 listed building.

The Hatworks is ultra easy to find. It is right next to the town's bus station. There is an entrance to the museum from the bus station but this is sometimes closed at the weekend. During these times you need to climb a set of steps up to the main entrance on the busy Wellington Road South (A6). It really is easy to find. You can not miss it due to the tall mill chimney with the name of the Hatworls painted on it.

I have been to the Hatworks twice, once with a friend and once with my sister and on both occasions I have had a very pleasant and rewarding visiting experience. The staff at the front desk have always been very helpful. On both times we were handed a black and white plan of the building and a leaflet about the special exhibition. The museum is free (a bonus for parents whose wallets have been stretched to the limit) but there are guided tours that cost £2 per person (a family ticket for two adults and two children is £7)

The museum is quite a small one consisting of three levels. A thorough visits could easily be done in two hours maximum. This is ideal as young minds will not become bored easily and it is fully accessible for wheelchairs and buggies. I would advise you start at the bottom and work your way up but there is no prescriptive route.

The ground floor contains a history of hat making in Stockport. This is the social history part of of the museum,. The display consists of informative panels alongside machinery and replica workshops and a hatter's cottage. This is where the tour comes in handy. During my first visit I was on this level when someone else was taking the tour so got to see the machines working (sneaky I know. I am a canny Scot who can be stingy with my money.!). The second time this floor was static and thus was a bit boring. I am not big on industrial machinery. I have seen too many wording cotton and woolen mills and they often all look the same to me but I did find it interesting seeing how felt hats were made both manually an in a factory. I was fascinated to see the different lasts used to create the different shapes of hats. I was not so interested in the Hatter's Cottage. It was a chance to bring the over used mangle and out door toilet that every museum collection has somehow acquired.

The star floor for me is the second floor. This is the Hat Gallery where 250 hats and other head gear are on show. I like this gallery as it is very accessible on a variety of different levels from experts to children. I have actually already recommended the museum to my friend and her three year old for this reason. You start off with a display about materials used to make hats which is fun as there are feeling drawers with examples of material to touch. Next to this case is a number of innovative hats made from recycled carrier bags. The exhibition continues with hats from around the world, sporting hats, religious hats etc. It's a really good way of displaying the hats as you can talk to children about the different usage of hats and other head gear. There's also a section on hats in entertainment so you can gawp at Ainsley Harriot's chef hatr along with the Cat in the Hat's striped top hat and head gear worn by Danni Minouge (the V and A has her sister's clothes. Stocckport is a bit mundane for Kylie!). The one thing you will not find is really old hats. I think the oldest one I noticed was a Victorian bonnet. There are also a few exhibits which you can not put on your head including a mini car (Ii am not sure why), a yurt (Mongolian felt tent) which is used for story telling and a model of the most famous milliner of all the Mad Hatter and his dear friend Alice.

As I mentioned the museum is very family friendly Both of my visits were on a Saturday and on both afternoons there were a lot of families exploring the collection and trying out the different activities in the special frailty zone including trying on a wide range of hats. There is also a wide range of family events from crafts to story telling in the Yurt.

The presentation is good but not exciting. Most of the hats are in glass cases with smallish labels and interpretation panels. Luckily they provide this information in alternate languages and in larger print for visually impaired people such as myself. Even so I found the books at times difficult to read due to the light. They have solved this by offering torches at reception if required. I like this gallery as it is fairly spacious so you never feel it is too crowded.

The final floor contains the amenities you would find in any half way decent museum. There is the cafe which I tried on my firs visit. If I remember rightly it served the usual selection of good quality drinks and cakes at a reasonable price. They also offer Internet access for a small charge in the cafe. Next to the cafe is the education centre. This can be hired out on Saturdays for childcare's parties. It must be fairly popular as it was in use both times I visited. Finally we have that purveyor of nostalgic postcards, dressing up dolls and pocket money souvenirs which is called the shop. It is quite a small one and most of the merchandise is fairly standard but they do sell some hats produced at the museum alongside some nice hat themed ornaments.

If you are bats about hats do not miss the Hatworks. it is a great way to while away an hour or two and is accessible for young and old. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on July 14, 2009

Stockport Hat Works Museum
Wellington Mill
Stockport, England SK3 0EU
+44 161 355 7770

Cheer!
Flag

Staircase House

Attraction | "Step Back in Time at the Staircase House"

Quote:

When you think of historic English cities you think instantly of places such as York, and Bath. Stockport does not come to mind at all. Surely its just an industrial town near Manchester? Well no. It may not be in the same league as the other places mentioned but it does have a few historic gems that make it worth visiting including their newest heritage attraction the Staircase House.You might be thinking "Not another historic house with period rooms" . You may be right to an extent. However I feel the Staircase House has a couple of unique aspects that differentiates itself from other house type museums. The Staircase House was originally built as a merchant;s townhouse dating from the seve...Read More

When you think of historic English cities you think instantly of places such as York, and Bath. Stockport does not come to mind at all. Surely its just an industrial town near Manchester? Well no. It may not be in the same league as the other places mentioned but it does have a few historic gems that make it worth visiting including their newest heritage attraction the Staircase House.
You might be thinking "Not another historic house with period rooms" . You may be right to an extent. However I feel the Staircase House has a couple of unique aspects that differentiates itself from other house type museums. The Staircase House was originally built as a merchant;s townhouse dating from the seventeenth century. This is fairly unique as most of the historic houses have visited from this period have been country manors and halls. The townhouses I have visited have tended to date from the eighteenth century or later thus quite a rare building.
The Staircase House is a a little hidden gem. Located facing Stockport's great marketplace the origins of this house date back to a crook framed medieval building (reputedly built for one of the Lord Mayor's of Stockport). This was developed into the seventeenth century house owned by a family of merchants,that still remains today with its very rare Cage Newall staircase (hence the name The Staircase House). The house became derelict during the latter part of the 20th century and was partially destroyed by fire in 1996. Since then Stockport Council have been restoring it to its former glory. It's now a social history museum furnished with period rooms. I found it a fascinating building. .
It is not the most obvious place to find as the Staircase House itself is hidden behind and accessed through Stockport's Tourist Information Centre at th top of the town near the covered market and the main church. I am not sure how easy it is to get to for disabled people as it is up quite a steep hill. It is about a ten minute walk from the bus and railway stations. Apparently there is a pay and display car park a few streets away.
Unlike some of the council museums in Stockpot such as The Hatworks and Stockpoert Museum and Art Gallery there is a small admission fee. This was £3.95 for adults and £2.95 for concessions. There is a special family ticket that admit two adults and two children for £12.90 and children under five are admitted for free. The admission fee is good value for money as it includes a very good audio guide tour that really enhanced my understanding of the house.
You enter the house in the courtyard where there is an introductory room with computer generated graphics of what the house looked like at various stags throughout its history and also little models of the various buildings that had been on the site.

The tour starts properly in the seventeenth century storeroom and takes between an hour and two hours depending how thoroughly you do it Through your tour you work your way through a number of different rooms mostly dating from the seventeenth century such as the kitchen, bedroom, tallow room, counting room and dowry room. On the top level there is an eighteenth century dining room, an early nineteenth century room that illustrates the growth of political movements in the early nineteenth century and finally a World War 2 room complete with black out curtains and tape across the windows.
The rooms (especially the earlier ones) are very well designed keeping family visitors in mind. I could see this museum appealing to anyone over about the age of six or seven. There is very little original seventeenth cemetery furniture left thus the rooms are furnished with skillfully crafted replicas. This is good as the furniture can be touched by little ones without fear of damaging very delicate timbers. It was nice to be able to lift the lid of the dowry casket and sit on the chairs in the Dower's room to see how comfortable (or uncomfortable) they were. There were also very simple touches that enhanced my visiting experience such as bowls of herbs in the kitchen. This does not cost a fortune but conveys how a kitchen might have smelled.
This sensory experience would be good for blind people as there is a lot to touch and smell. I was really interested in the tallow room where there were examples of seventeenth century lighting from rush lamps (which you could make) to tallow and beeswax candles. I had read that tallow is not a nice substance for lighting as it is made out of animal fat but until I felt and smelled the difference between the beeswax and tallow I did not realise how vile tallow is. It's really greasy and oily. It is a bit like the fat from a cooking pan all solidified. Would you want that burring in your home?
As well as things to touch and smell there are a number of activities that children (and big children) are encouraged to do to understand seventeenth century life better. These included sweeping the floor, packing apples in straw to preserve them better,and writing with a quill pen. I found the last few non seventeenth century rooms not quite as good because there was less emphasis on interactivity. I think the early nineteenth century room with its emphasis on the radical movement would go over younger children's heads.

One area that worked well for me was a viewing platform where you could view the courtyard and a wall that showed the different building materials used in the house. It quite clearly showed different types of bricks, plaster and llathe panels and the old fashioned wattle and daub. This was the only area that had an interpretation panel, which was quite useful to identify the different building materials.
The one let down in the Staircase House was the Cage Newall staircase itself This is only one of three staircases of its type to survive in Britain . I was pretty underwhelmed when seeing it as I suppose I had it in my mind that rare equaled spectacular. The staircase is interesting but looks very rickety. It has carved horizontal beams with vertical post. Originally these post would have been ceiling height to give the staircase a caged effect. I think that would have probably made the staircase look more impressive. Llike a lot of the house it has been restored sympathetically and it is interesting to see the slight different shades of wood of the old and newer timbers in the staircase.
I felt the audio guide was the ideal way of interpreting the Staircase House. It meant traditional labels and boards were done away with so that the house had a more natural feel to it.. The audio guide was very interesting to listen to. It catered for a wide range of audiences. In each room they would describe the room pointing out pieces of furniture of particular interest. It would also use acted out scenes of everyday life relating to that particular rooms. It was really well researched as contemporary source were consulted throughout. I found the general commentary informative and interesting. For those that wanted slightly more in depth knowledge about the house including a lot of details on the techniques used in restoring the house there were further commentaries to listen to. I really liked this as as I found it fascinating due to my background in heritage but it might be too specialised, boring or go over other people's heads. The only problem I can see with the audio guide is that it limits repeat vising as the audio guide is included the price of the ticket, unless they change the connect of the audio guide slightly. They also have live interpretation and demonstrations on certain days to bring the house alive, although there were none on the Saturday we visited the Staircase House.

I would heartily recommend a visit to the Staircase House. It is an interesting period house museum which is slightly different from the norm. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on July 14, 2009

Staircase House
30/31 Market Place, Stockport
Manchester, England
0161 480 1460

Cheer!
Flag

City Art Gallery

Attraction | "There Is an Art to Making an Interesting Art Gallery"

Quote:

Manchester City Art Gallery prides itself on being a very easy art gallery for people to access. It dates back from the nineteenth century and now has over 25000 items spanning several centuries. Over 2000 of these pieces can be on show at one time The collection is housed in a beautiful neo classical building with a very modern glass interior.The art gallery is right in the city centre on the corner of Mosley Street and Princess Street. It is easily accessible as it is a couple of minutes walk from both the town hall and Piccadilly Gardens where all the public transport stops. rOnce I strode up the steps and entered the impressive building I arrived in an entrance hall. I feel the...Read More

Manchester City Art Gallery prides itself on being a very easy art gallery for people to access. It dates back from the nineteenth century and now has over 25000 items spanning several centuries. Over 2000 of these pieces can be on show at one time The collection is housed in a beautiful neo classical building with a very modern glass interior.
The art gallery is right in the city centre on the corner of Mosley Street and Princess Street. It is easily accessible as it is a couple of minutes walk from both the town hall and Piccadilly Gardens where all the public transport stops.
r
Once I strode up the steps and entered the impressive building I arrived in an entrance hall. I feel there is a little confusion on where to go at first. There is an information desk to the side but I look round the entrance hall. There are wheelchairs so physical access is possible to those with mobility problems. There is also a demonstration of different audio tours including one for the visually impaired, a family tour and tours in Chinese and Bengali. Unfortunately all the hand sets had disappeared. There was no notice to say how much these tours were. .Once I got my bearings I went into the first gallery the Manchester Gallery .

This gallery is all about any art at all that is produced in or is about Manchester. This is not just paintings and drawings; it includes crafts films and photography. The gallery included different themes including The changing face of Piccadilly Gardens, made in Manchester, Pride and a section on Ancoatrs (an area just to the north of Manchester city centre where many of the cotton mills were located). The exhibition was a bit confusing as there were mirrors in place so it looked bigger than it actually was. Everything was well labeled and there was also a gallery guide in a folder if you wanted further information. There was information on community work in Manchester which I thought was good. The community project was a glass display that was very pretty and blended in well with the display of Manchester glass. There were some lovely portraits in the exhibition and there were the obligatory Lowerys. Lowery does not do much for me but I do like his picture of Piccadilly Gardens as I know the place and can relate to it. There were audio visuals to watch and benches were provided so you can sit down and watch them. One of the audio visuals was an episode of Andy Pandy as the film studies Cosgrove Pictures who made Andy Pandy and a lot of other children’s programs was based in Chorlton in South Manchester. Other things that stood out were record covers and T shirts making me think what exactly art is. One thing I liked about Manchester Art Gallery is that they encourage audience participation and feedback through comment boards. In the Manchester Gallery there is a wall of comments about Manchester including favourite places and favourite parts of the exhibition. It looks really good and is something different rather than a boring old visitor’s book. The good thing about this exhibition is that you can relate to a lot of the artifacts as it is Manchester themed. This is a great way to bring social inclusion as a picture of Piccadilly Gardens seems more relevant than a Constable landscape to some people,
Whilst I was on the ground floor I thought I would check out the shop and the restaurant. The shop seemed pretty good. It sold a good range of art inspired merchandise including books, postcards, prints and cards alongside activities for children’s
The cafe/restaurant t is expensive. There is a menu for children but I did not get to that. I was tempted to have a coffee but the prices of things before the coffee put me off. It was £5.95 for a bowl of soup and a sandwich and over 7 pound for a bowl of soup and a salad. A packet of Sensations crisps was about 85 p. The cakes looked good and very gooey but I hate to think what they cost so I went back to the entrance hall to climb the stairs to the next floor
The second floor is where most of the main galleries are. They are arranged either thematically or chronologically. I actually drifted a wee bit in these as there were too many paintings. I was impressed with the interpretation as they did have cards in different languages including Chinese, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, French, Japanese, Spanish and German. I did like some of the Victorian and pre Raphaelite galleries as I like very romantic paintings. I think I am quite conservative when it comes to art. I did like a more modern painting of a face that was textured and contoured and really worked. I found the modern art galleries harder as I find it quite hard to interpret. There was a green painting with red and blue dashes. It reminded me of a pool table there was also a weirdly shaped TV. This really confused me.
The Clore Interactive Gallery is the main attraction on the first floor. It is a gallery with children in mind and it is brilliant. When I was in this particular gallery there were no children just adults trying out the interactives and having great fun in the process. The aim of this gallery is to take a piece of art whether it is a painting, drawing or sculpture and then takes an aspect of it to demonstrate to children the meaning of the piece of art. This aspect might be movement, or colour. It really is a fantastic gallery. Some of the interactives are very simply but very effective. There is one based on a sculpture of a face that is made up of everyday objects. The activity is to make a similar sculpture with objects such as scourers, hot water brittles and paint brushes that have magnets fixed on them. It was great fun. Anointer great one is based around a painting of a chariot race. There is an interactive where you can take part in the race by tapping a spot which is sort of like a lap top moue and the little chariot moves. These interactives really bring the artwork to life and are moré enjoyable for kids and adults alike than just looking at a paining. Some of the interactives are more complex and use multimedia programs such as touch screens and sound. On of the most effective multi media interactives is one based on a painting of a girl reading a book. The theme is tranquility. You sit in a booth and watch the girl reading the book. The aim is to sit still but she moves and smiles, and scratches and does all sorts of things. If you smile or laugh the film finishes !

Once I had finished the second floor I decided to take a look at the third floor. T
The Craft and Design Gallery was interesting as it showed craft work as a form of art. It documented different areas of craft such as silverware, woodwork furniture design and pottery. My favourite part of this was an area where you could touch different textured pieces. This was ideal for visually impaired people.

I had an enjoyable few hours wandering round the art gallery especially in the Clore Gallery Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on July 13, 2009

City Art Gallery
Mosely Street
Manchester, England

Cheer!
Flag

Using the Metrolink

Story/Tip

Quote:

One of the easiest and quickest ways to travel in certain parts of Manchester is its tram system the Metrolink. It connect all of the city centre railway stations apart from Oxford Road. The tram has three lines outwith the city centre. It goes out to Heaton Park and Bury in the north, down to Old Trafford, Sale and Altrincham in the south and Salford Quays and Eccles in the west. There is also a free connecting shuttle bus to the Trafford Centre from the Stretford stop. Whether it is culture (the Lowry and the Imperial War Museum North), sport (Old Trafford football and cricket grounds), or shopping (hte Trafford Centre, Lowry Outlet Mall or the wonderful market at Bury) there is something for ever...Read More

One of the easiest and quickest ways to travel in certain parts of Manchester is its tram system the Metrolink. It connect all of the city centre railway stations apart from Oxford Road. The tram has three lines outwith the city centre. It goes out to Heaton Park and Bury in the north, down to Old Trafford, Sale and Altrincham in the south and Salford Quays and Eccles in the west. There is also a free connecting shuttle bus to the Trafford Centre from the Stretford stop. Whether it is culture (the Lowry and the Imperial War Museum North), sport (Old Trafford football and cricket grounds), or shopping (hte Trafford Centre, Lowry Outlet Mall or the wonderful market at Bury) there is something for everyone along the Metrolink line.

How much does it cost?

Some people complain about the price of the Metrolink but I think it is very reasonable especially if you use it off peak after 9.30 in the morning. A return from Stretford to the city centre off peak is only £2.40Beforehand it is £3.30. This is much cheaper than the bus. The only time I would use the bus instead of the tram off peak is if I was planning a single journey. Single tickets seem to be a con and are often as little as 10 pence cheaper than the return.

The frequency between trams is one of the best things about the Metrolink. If running smoothly before 7pm on weekdays the trams are 7 minutes apart. At off peak periods during the evenings, Sundays and bank holidays the trams run 15 minutes apart. This is great. Even when there are delays the time you have to wait is reasonable. I have found only a few times that I have given up on waiting for a tram. This is usually if there are problems with the track. I once had to wait about twenty minutes in a tram in Altrincham station as the computer network that controls the trams was down). If there is a big problem with the tram system they will lay on buses but I think this has only happened once in the two years of regularly using the Metrolink. . The trams run just about every day of the year from about 6am to late. I think the last tram leaves the city centre at quarter to midnight on a weekday and about an hour later at the weekend. Unless you are a clubber or a person with very strange shift patterns the Metrolink caters for everyone.

It sounds good, so is it quick? Yes most of the time it is ultra speedy. It only takes about ten minutes to get into the city centre from Stretford. In comparison the bus takes well over twenty minutes depending on the traffic. The only time it goes slowly is in the city centre where you can just about walk faster than the tram but it certainly gathers speed as it leaves the City behind.

?Generally I find the trams are not too dirty. I would say the standard of cleanliness beats buses. Comfort on the tram depends on the time of day you are traveling and also what is happening around the City Centre. Avoid the trams during rush hour and if there are any events on at the football and cricket grounds. I used to commute via the tram and I would not recommend it. I found most mornings I was squashed into an area that a battery hen would feel claustrophobic in, right by the doors and pressed like sardines into the armpit of someone who has never ventured into Boots in their life. If you can get a seat it is pretty comfortable. The seats are similar to standard bus seats. I would try not to get a seat where the tram carriages join, as it can be a bit jerky when the tram turns.

You can buy single day tickets from vending machines situated on station platforms. These are relatively easy to use and not usually out of order. When buying them I would make sure you had change first as they only give £7 change maximum and they can be funny about notes. They do no take coppers either. You cannot buy the tickets on the trams themselves. The weekly and monthly passes can be bought at selected newsagents, post offices; some railway stations an all GMPTE offices. Remember to buy you ticket and do no think that you can get away without buying one (although I must admit I have gone without a ticket once or twice). Ticket inspectors do spot check and there is a fine if you do not have a ticket.

Is it suitable for disabled people?

GMPTE has provided access to the stations with ramps and lifts. However i would not say the trams thmselves would be that suitable unless the tram was quiet. There are spacest for wheelchairs and pushchairs but as stated during peak periods these would be filed up with commuters standing.

So would I recommend the Metrolink?

Yes I would. It is quick, reliable, and fairly reasonable. However if you are commuting from not too far away I would use the bus as it is cheaper and usually less crowded. Read Less

Cheer!
Flag

Manchester Cathedral

Attraction | "Holy Smoke at Manchester Cathedral"

Quote:

Manchester Cathedral is one of the oldest and most important buildings in Manchester City Centre.The six hundred year old collegiate church is located in the oldest area of the city near the confluence of the Irwell and Irk rivers. The building although not the most impressive cathedral compared to York Minster or Salisbury, attracts 70 000 visitors each year. Within this there lies a problem: The cathedral role is dual as a place of worship and spiritual well-being and as a tourist and heritage attraction. The interpretation of the cathedral has to be sympathetic to the needs of tourists, pilgrims and worshipers. It has solved this by opening a new visitor centre opposite the Cathedral in...Read More

Manchester Cathedral is one of the oldest and most important buildings in Manchester City Centre.
The six hundred year old collegiate church is located in the oldest area of the city near the confluence of the Irwell and Irk rivers. The building although not the most impressive cathedral compared to York Minster or Salisbury, attracts 70 000 visitors each year. Within this there lies a problem: The cathedral role is dual as a place of worship and spiritual well-being and as a tourist and heritage attraction. The interpretation of the cathedral has to be sympathetic to the needs of tourists, pilgrims and worshipers. It has solved this by opening a new visitor centre opposite the Cathedral in May 2002.

The Cathedral and the visitors' centre are very much a key element of Cathedral Gardens: the first urban city park of the new millennium contained in the Millennium quarter of Manchester City Centre alongside other historic buildings such as Cheethams School and newer attractions such as the Prrintworks leisure development and Urbis. It is interesting that the oldest part of the city is promoted as the newest part of the city due to urban renewal and redevelopment.

The Cathedral is easy to get to via car, train, bus, tram or foot. It is right next to Victoria railway station and the Metrolink tram stop
History
The site of the Cathedral has been an important one for more than a thousand years. The present cathedral dedicated to St Mary, St George and St Denys was built in 1421 to serve a growing medieval town. However this was not the first church on the site. It is speculated that there had been two other churches the first one dating back to 800AD. The Angel Stone displayed in the cathedral might have come from this church however there is little evidence to prove this. The Doomsday Book mentions a parish church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin which probably would have been on the same site as the present cathedral. Like most churches the collegiate church has been adapted, extended and rebuilt due to changes such as the reformation, and damage caused by events such as storms in 1792 and the blitz in 1940. The biggest change in the building's history was the upgrading of it from collegiate church to cathedral with the creation of the Diocese of Manchester in 1847 due to the rapid growth of industrialised Manchester in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The cathedral is no way as impressive as York Minster, Saint Paul’s Cathedral or other big cathedrals. In fact you would hardly know it is a cathedral . It looks more like a big parish church. Warning, around the cathedral area there are drunken naïve Mancunians and skater kids hanging around.
Although Manchester Cathedral is not the most impressive Cathedral from the outside, it does have a wealth of interesting features . These include the 9th century Angel Stone, examples of fine medieval carving in the Pulpitum ( choir screen) and on the beautiful fan vaulted ceiling in the nave. Its modern stained glass windows especially the Fire Window by Anthony Holloway are also of special interest. They are very bright and colourful. Features I specifically liked were the carved figures of medieval musicians and also the carved kangaroo on the bishop’s chair the Cathedra.
The interpretation in the cathedral itself is mostly information based using interpretation panels, guided tours, guidebooks and leaflets. What is available inside the cathedral is well written and presented, but is very basic. To an extent it does try to engage the visitor. This is demonstrated in the free leaflet which suggests a walk around the cathedral. The leaflet gives plenty of information about the cathedral and its parts but makes the walk more interesting by pointing out little details you might miss
One thing that did contribute to my enjoyment of my initial visit to the cathedral was the scholars of Cheetham's School of Music practicing for a concert.. Concerts are held daily in the cathedral and add to the tranquil atmosphere. Perhaps it could be suggested classical music be played when there are no services to enhance the visitors experience.
The Visitor’s Centre
Manchester Cathedral, alongside other cathedrals such as Hereford and Salisbury, has opened a visitors' centre to solve the conflict between the need for catering for tourists but not being too commercialised either. The new visitor centre was opened in May 2002 in refurbished Victorian buildings opposite the cathedral, and was funded by the Millennium Commission. It contains exhibition space, a refectory, meeting rooms, a gift shop and the remains of the medieval Hanging Bridge, Manchester's only ancient monument. Whilst being designed, the concept of the visitor centre was "to provide a 'bridge', both spiritually and physically, to lead and link the religious and secular characteristics of the central Cathedral site" and "introducing and interpreting the things of the Spirit to a very different community today". The way this would be done was through the exhibition space. It is implied in the promotional literature before the opening of the centre that there would be two exhibitions. The Living Cathedral Exhibition that would give a historical survey of the church buildings and famous events, and the Medieval Exhibition that would show and explain archaeological discoveries made on the site, and artefact's from excavations near the Cathedral.
The first problem with the visitor's centre is it is quite hard to find. It is hidden away down a side street and it would be easy to miss if you did not know it was there.
The visitor centre is fairly small. On entrance there is a gift and bookshop selling a wide range of gifts from inexpensive merchandise such as postcards and bookmarks to expensive items such as jewellery and chess sets. The staff who are volunteers from the Diocese are friendly welcoming and informative. Before the main exhibition area there is an audio-visual about the history of the cathedral and the town. This is a good idea but it is hindered by its location in a main corridor with no seating, so the benefit of the video may be lost. It would have been better to situate it elsewhere in the exhibition space. After the audio-visual there is a bridge-like walkway with a two-dimensional figure representing different events in the cathedral's history with short and concise interpretive panels to explain what they represent.

The main exhibition area is dominated by four touch-screen interactives. The first one covers the development of Manchester and the cathedral at different times in history. These are Medieval Manchester, Manchester in the Industrial Revolution and Manchester today. It does this through computer reconstructions of the city and accounts from people in the various periods. The second module's theme is famous Mancunians from the world of science, literature and theology. The third module is a virtual tour of the cathedral, whilst the last one focuses on the cathedral's international links. I particularly enjoyed the first one of these as I was interested in the history of Manchester and there was enough audio and reconstructions to keep my interest. I found some of the other ones a bit dull.

The archaeological remains on show consisting of a carved stone and one of the earliest known remnants of one of the testament are not as successful as the touch screen interactives, as they are hard to relate to. The fragment of testament is tiny and uninteresting to all but a theologian. It is also tucked away at the side of the exhibition I found these fragments dull and boring.
The final component of the visitor's centre is the Hanging Bridge. This has been hidden in the basement of the visitor centre building since the nineteenth century. The bridge is one of early Manchester's most important buildings linking the cathedral to the city. Access to the bridge is via the visitor centre's refectory. This is an ideal usage of the arches of the bridge. The bridge it self is hardly breathtaking. It seems a nice little café but I have not sampled the goods.
The cathedral is a nice place to visit but is hardly breathtaking. The visitor centre is a good way to spend a spare half an hour. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on July 12, 2009

Manchester Cathedral
Victoria Street
Manchester, England M3 1SX
+44 161 833 2220

Cheer!
Flag

IgoUgo

Manchester Journals

Visit Manchester

Stockport Hat Works Museum

Staircase House

City Art Gallery

Using the Metrolink

Manchester Cathedral

About the Writer

More Journals by duskmaiden

More Manchester Journals

Manchester Tips & Stories

Popular Manchester Hotels