City Center, Manchester

Manchester Cathedral, on the banks of the Irwell, is in Perpendicular style and dates mostly from 1422 to 1506. It was raised to cathedral status in 1847. The chapels on both sides of the nave and choir were built between 1486 and 1508, and there were further additions and alterations in almost every subsequent century. Particularly notable are the choir-stalls, with misericords which are among the most richly decorated in the country. The side chapels in the choir have been preserved, unlike those in the nave. St John's Chapel is the chapel of the Manchester Regiment. The little Lady Chapel has a wooden screen of about 1440. The octagonal chapterhouse, built in 1465, has mural paintings by C. Weight (1962) at the entrance, including a figure of Christ in modern dress.

Chetham's Hospital, just north of the Manchester Cathedral, dates in part from 1422-61. It was originally a residence for priests of a collegiate foundation, and is now occupied by a music school. Its library is one of the oldest public libraries in England with a stock of over 100,000 books, half of which were printed before 1850.

The John Rylands Library is housed in a neo-Gothic building to the southwest of Chetham's Hospital in Deansgate. Founded in 1653, it has over five million books and manuscripts and is England's main repository for early printed books.

The pedestrianized Albert Square is graced by the imposing facade of the neo-Gothic Town Hall (1868-1877), designed by Alfred Waterhouse. From the tower there is an excellent panoramic view, while the Council Chamber and the cycle of paintings by Fort Madox Brown depicting the history of the city merit special attention.

The Manchester Central Library next door to the Town Hall is a large rotunda by E. Vincent Harris (1934) and houses nine specialized libraries.

The Free Trade Hall, opened in 1951 and just a few minutes walk to the southwest of Manchester's Central Library in Peter Street, is home to the Hallé Orchestra. First-class concerts are regularly given here.

The centrally situated Great Manchester Exhibition and Event Center (10,000sq.m/12,000sq.yd of exhibition area) is one of the newest such sites in England and is impressive for its size alone. It has been set up in the former buildings of the Victorian railroad station on Windmill Street and Mosley Street.

Manchester's Centre for the Visual Arts is at 70 Oxford Street. For those interested in the moving image there are film showings, video and photographic workshops, and temporary exhibitions.

The Manchester City Art Gallery in Mosley Street possesses one of the largest collections in Britain outside London. The gallery includes works by the pre-Raphaelites, Flemish masters of the 17th C, French impressionists (Gauguin, Manet, Monet, etc.), German artists (Max Ernst), and examples of the work of almost every English artist of any note, including Stubbs, Constable and Turner. The sculpture collection includes works by Rodin, Maillol, Jakob Epstein and Henry Moore ("Mother and Child").

Chinatown, the colorful home of one of the largest Chinese communities in Great Britain, is only a stone's throw from the City Art Gallery. The richly decorated Chinese arched gateway which leads into this little district is especially striking. Many shops and restaurants offering a wide range of culinary delicacies (especially from Hong Kong and Peking) have become established in this quarter, while Chinese handicrafts can be found at the Chinese Arts Centre in Charlotte Street.

The People's History Museum or National Museum of Labor History is the national centre for the collection, conservation, interpretation and study of material relating to the history of working people in Britain. The origin of the museum is from the Trade Union, Labour and Co-operative History Society which began in 1960.

The Jewish Museum has a collection which deals with the Jewish community in Manchester.The museum is housed in the former Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, built in 1874. The building contains noteworthy stained glass windows.

In the Museum of Transport (Boyle Street/Cheetham Hill) there are over 60 old buses and other vehicles belonging to the city transport services.

Heaton Hall in Prestwich, built in 1772 in the neoclassical style by James Wyatt, is worth visiting for its applied art and elegant furniture.

Platt Hall, an elegant Georgian house (Wilmslow Road/ Rusholme) built in 1764, presents an overview of English fashion and costume from 1600 to the present day.This is perhaps the only collection which rivals that found in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The main body of the collection was a gift from C. W. Cunnington, an early collector and writer of many books on the subject of dress history.Strengths of the collection include excellent examples of everyday dress.

Porcelain, silver and paintings are on display in Wythenshawe Horticultural Center, a half-timbered mansion.