Peveril of the Peak, a Historic Pub in Manchester, Has Welcomed Patrons Since 1820

Affectionately known to locals as “The Pev,” Peveril of the Peak is one of Manchester’s most iconic and visually striking landmarks. Located on a “triangular island” on Great Bridgewater Street, it is a rare surviving example of a detached Victorian-era pub.

The pub dates back to approximately 1820, though its most famous features were added much later. There are two primary theories regarding its name. It is widely believed to be named after Sir Walter Scott’s longest novel, Peveril of the Peak (published in 1823), which references Peveril Castle in Derbyshire. Others suggest it was named after the Manchester-to-London stagecoach that shared the name and famously made the journey in just two days.

The pub is a Grade II listed building, primarily famous for its exquisite wraparound green and yellow tile work. Originally a simple brick building, the pub underwent an extensive remodeling around 1900. This added the vibrant ceramic tiling (faience) and the stained-glass windows that remain today.

While it was once part of a dense network of terraced houses and factories (including the Atlas Locomotive Works), urban development in the 20th century cleared the surrounding buildings. The Pev survived, leaving it isolated on its own small plot of land surrounded by modern office blocks.

The pub has accumulated a variety of colorful stories over its two-century history. The pub has been run by the same family since 1971. The landlady, Nancy Swanick, is a legendary figure in the Manchester pub scene, having lived above the bar for over 50 years. Local legend claims the pub was used as a brothel by G.I.s stationed in Manchester during World War II. Staff and regulars have reported various hauntings, including glasses “levitating” or moving toward the glass wash on their own, a spirit often described as “helpful.”

It has been a favorite haunt for various celebrities, most notably Manchester United legend Eric Cantona. It was also used as a filming location for the 1990s crime drama Cracker, starring Robbie Coltrane.

See more»

22 Astonishing Pictures That Document Slum Life in Manchester in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

Nick Hedges was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, in 1943. He studied photography at Birmingham College of Art from 1965 to 1968, and as a final project he worked with Birmingham Housing Trust on an exhibition about the city’s badly housed.

On leaving college, Shelter employed Hedges to document the oppressive and abject living conditions being experienced in poor quality housing in the UK. On his visits to cities including London, Glasgow, Manchester, Salford, Bradford, Liverpool and Newcastle, Hedges captured astonishing scenes of families negotiating life in slums. 

In Hedges’ belief, photographers should work on projects to support the reformation and improvement of society, and through his photographs, he hoped to help raise consciousness about the extent of unfit living conditions.

Family living in a single room, Moss Side, 1969.

Children playing on wasteground, 1969.

Housewife in the backyard of a terraced house, 1969.

Bedroom ceiling, Moss Side, 1969.

Clothes drying in the garden of Moss Side multi-let, 1969.

See more»

Amazing Photos of Manchester Punks in the 1980s

Punk fashion is the clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelery, and body modifications of the punk counterculture. Punk fashion varies widely, ranging from Vivienne Westwood designs to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited to the dressed-down look of North American hardcore. The distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including glam rock, skinheads, rude boys, greasers, and mods have influenced punk fashion.

Punk fashion has likewise influenced the styles of these groups, as well as those of popular culture. Many punks use clothing as a way of making a statement.

These amazing photos from John that show what Manchester punks looked like in the 1980s.

“These images have been scanned from my original photographs before they disintegrated after being kept in storage in a cold damp cellar for over a year. Included here are gig photos of Amebix, Conflict, The English Dogs and Disorder, playing live in Manchester during the 1980s. Most of the photos here were taken in Manchester in the 1980s and include other punks from that time.”

See more»

40 Sombre Black-and-White Photos of Streets of Manchester in 1963

Manchester went through enormous and difficult changes in the sixties. After WWII cities such as Manchester lost power over local gas and electrical supply – thus much of their income. The city also had to struggle with high unemployment rates, as heavy industry, cotton processing and trading all suffered a severe downturn. Between 1961 and 1983, Manchester lost 150,000 jobs in manufacturing. The city’s population also suffered a decline during that time. In 1961, Manchester’s population was 662,000, and by 1971 it was 544,000.

The city also saw the rise of new buildings, skyscrapers and housing schemes in this decade. Few aesthetically memorable buildings were constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, but some grew into landmarks. In 1962, the 118-metre tall CIS Tower became the tallest building in the United Kingdom, and three years later came the opening of the Piccadilly Plaza, another skyscraper. Overcrowded and shabby housing was also demolished to make way for high-rise blocks of flats.

Take a look back at the city in 1963 through these 40 sober vintage black-and-white photographs from part of the Town Hall Photographer’s Collection at Manchester City Council’s Central Library archives:

See more»

Life of the Working Class in Manchester in the 1960s and 1970s

Manchester went through enormous and difficult changes in the sixties and seventies. After WWII cities such as Manchester lost power over local gas and electrical supply – thus much of their income. The city also had to struggle with high unemployment rates, as heavy industry, cotton processing and trading all suffered a severe downturn. Between 1961 and 1983, Manchester lost 150,000 jobs in manufacturing. During the 1970s, the City Council lost most of its remaining vital responsibilities. The city’s population also suffered a decline during that time. In 1961, Manchester’s population was 662,000, and by 1971 it was 544,000.

These photographs, taken by Shirley Baker, showed people's lives in a rapidly changing area around them. “There was so much destruction: a street would be half pulled down and the remnants set on fire while people were still living in the area. As soon as any houses were cleared, children would move in and break all the windows, starting the demolition process themselves.” Baker told the Guardian. “There was no health and safety in those days; they could do as they liked. I never posed my pictures. I shot scenes as I found them.

“People were turfed out of their homes. Some squatted in old buildings, trying to hang on to the life they knew. They didn’t have much and things were decided for them. A lot of people had dropped through the net and didn’t even know they were entitled to benefits. Some needed help but no one had even heard of a psychiatrist.” Recalled the photographer. “I would go out on to the streets capturing this upheaval, photographing people I came across… around every corner there was someone different. It became an obsession.”

Take a look back at the life on the streets of the working class in Manchester in the 1960s and 1970s through 19 vintage photographs taken by Shirley Baker:

See more»

Fascinating Vintage Snapshots of Manchester in the ‘80s

In the early 1980s, several traditional and local industries were declining and many of them were closed under the radical economic restructuring often known as Thatcherism. “In the decade from 1979, when Mrs Thatcher applied ‘monetarism’,” said one commentator. “94 percent of all job losses occurred north of a line drawn from the Wash to the Severn. Of the manufacturing jobs lost, 70 percent were from the North.” The city, however, was also developed rapidly in the 1980s. On November 5, 1980, Manchester became a nuclear-free city. It was a progressive gesture but largely symbolic.

There were many physical changes in the eighties as well. The city center was contracted and became a shadow of its nineteenth-century self. The abandoned Central Station was converted into the Greater Manchester Exhibition Centre (now Manchester Central) in 1982. It was also during this decade that Chinatown came into its own and the Gay Village eventually became reality instead of mere fantasy. The Museum of Science and Industry opened in 1983 and Castlefield was brought back to active life. Then came the opening of The Jewish Museum in 1984 and The Chinese Arts Centre in 1986. In order to renovate former warehouse areas and canal basins, The Central Manchester Development Corporation was created in 1988.

Take a look back at the city in the 1980s through 26 fascinating vintage snapshots from the Visual Resources Collection at Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections and Manchester Archives Plus:

Piccadilly Gardens, 1980

Central Station, 1980

Hollings Building, 1980

St Mary's Gate, 1980

View along St Mary's Gate towards Market Street, around 1980

See more»

Clint Eastwood Samples a Pint of Beer During His Visit to Manchester in 1967

Hollywood hardman Clint Eastwood found his favorite pint of beer during his visit to Manchester on June 12, 1967. “I love beer but the froth gets up my nose,” he said. And immediately he blew it off the top of his pint.

The actor had just risen to fame as the “Man with No Name” in Sergio Leone’s “Dollars Trilogy” of Spaghetti Westerns. He was also well known for playing Rowdy Yates in the TV series Rawhide.

Eastwood was on a UK tour promoting the first film in the “Dollars Trilogy,” A Fistful of Dollars, which also starred Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach. The other movies in the series were The Good the Bad and the Ugly and For a Few Dollars More.

Fascinating Vintage Snapshots of Greater Manchester in the 1970s

Manchester went through enormous changes in the seventies—a decade of confusion, of a loss of direction, of new music, and the arrival of a vast city center monster. During the 1970s, the City Council lost most of its remaining vital responsibilities. After WWII cities such as Manchester lost power over local gas and electrical supply – thus much of their income. All control of local transport was taken and the city’s famous red buses became grotesque pop orange and brown under a broader transport authority.

In 1974, Greater Manchester County was created from south-east Lancashire and north east Cheshire. Thus the city of Manchester lost power over its police force and fire services. With the creation of the North West Water Authority it also lost its management of water and sewage services. Even the airport was taken out of Manchester’s hands to be shared by the new Greater Manchester authority. It was also during this decade that Manchester Ship Canal began a steep decline at its headwaters in Salford and Trafford as container traffic began to make it unviable. Between 1961 and 1983, Manchester lost 150,000 jobs in manufacturing.

Take a look back at the city in the 1970s through 36 fascinating vintage snapshots from the Visual Resources Collection at Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections:

High Street.

Grosvenor Picture Palace.

Deansgate.

Building at the junction of Bridge Street and Motor Street.

Architecture and Planning Building.

See more»

22 Color Snapshots of Manchester in the 1960s

The sixties was a difficult decade for Manchester. As heavy industry, cotton processing and trading all suffered a severe downturn, the city had to struggle with high unemployment rates. Between 1961 and 1983, Manchester lost 150,000 jobs in manufacturing. The city’s population also suffered a decline during that time. In 1961, Manchester’s population was 662,000, and by 1971 it was 544,000.

The city also saw the rise of new buildings, skyscrapers and housing schemes in this decade. Few aesthetically memorable buildings were constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, but some grew into landmarks. In 1962, the 118-metre tall CIS Tower became the tallest building in the United Kingdom, and three years later came the opening of the Piccadilly Plaza, another skyscraper. Overcrowded and shabby housing was also demolished to make way for high-rise blocks of flats.

Take a look back at the city in the 1960s through 22 fascinating vintage snapshots from the Visual Resources Collection at Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections:

Portland Street at Piccadilly.

Brown's warehouse.

Ackers Street and the Holy Name.

Crowborough Street.

Cavendish Street.

See more»

Vintage Photographs Capture the Experiences of Passengers at Manchester Airport in the 1980s

A poignant look back at the passenger experience at Manchester Airport as seen through the lens of Shirley Baker thirty years ago, having spent a day at the airport in 1987 capturing the experiences of passengers using the airport. The images show Manchester Airport in all its 80’s glory – curly perms, corduroy trousers, pay phones, oodles of cheap duty free, and smoking in the departure lounge. Baker’s photographs also show how people passed the time before a flight by playing cards and board games – a far cry from smart phones, tablets and kindles. The style of passengers is also brought into focus with big hair and plenty of shell suits on show.

Born in Salford, Baker was famed for her street photography of working class inner-city areas. She studied photography at Manchester College of Technology and then the London College of Printing. She started work as an industrial photographer for fabric manufacturers, Courtaulds before working freelance and as a writer and photographer on various magazines, books and newspapers.

The photos of Manchester Airport were discovered in the archives at Central Library. They explore work created after Shirley Baker was approached by the Documentary Photography Archive (DPA), who were seeking to commission photographers to grow their collection of contemporary work.

See more»

30 Fascinating Color Photographs Capture Street Scenes of Manchester in the 1970s

Remember when Piccadilly Gardens had actual gardens? Take a look at some of the highlights from Manchester Metropolitan University's archives and get nostalgic about how the city used to be.

View north along High Street from the junction with Church Street in March 1970.

Building at the junction of Bridge Street and Motor Street, including George Best's 'Edwardia' Boutique, 1970.

View across the junction of Oxford Road and Booth Street, showing the Unversity of Manchester's Business School and Precinct Centre under construction in 1970.

View across Oxford Road at All Saints, looking east from the Chatham Building, November 1970.

Piccadilly Station Approach and Gateway House, 1971.

See more»