The Britannia Inn back in 1963.
Demolished in early September 2010 after being acquired by the owners of Manchester City Football Club for £100,000 from Allied Irish bank, who were acting as receivers. It was then subsequently demolished on behalf of Manchester City Football Club. There were many rumours at the time of the ‘richest club in the world’ opening up a ‘super pub’ back up for the fans, but these were nothing more than rumours and didn’t stop the loss of one of the last pieces of Victorian heritage left in this area. There was also talk that it was to be gutted and refurbished before opening as a place for the media to pick up press passes and a store for stewards and match-day staff. This too was proved to be incorrect.
A club spokesman at the time, said the pub had been bought as part of plans to enhance the matchday experience for next season.
The spokesman added: “The building will become an accreditation centre that will support the stadium’s administrative event operation, as part of our improved match-day experience.
The Britannia Inn was built in 1872 and was surrounding my a whole community of housing, shops and schools. Many of community would have worked in the nearby Bradford Colliery, which dominated this entire area and overshadowed it with a thick smog of coal dust.
The Britannia Inn was closed for many years until it was bought by ex Manchester City footballer, Mike Summerbee who renamed it the Maine Road in tribute to the football clubs former home in Moss Side.
The pub had more recently been boarded up and possibly being sold by Allied Irish bank due to its owners debts.
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Philip Bell I’ll tell you (when we next meet) about a conversation I had with a town planner in Manchester
23 September 2010 at 06:22
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Hi, Rhiannon
Thats no problem at all. If I don’t get them to you today, I’ll send them over tomorrow.
HistoryME
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Save Britain’s Heritage Dear HistoryME,
Please could you email me these pictures as attachments to rhiannon.tracy@savebritainsheritage.org for possible inclusion in a ‘scandals’ section in next year’s buildings at risk catalogue. Thank you! Thanks, Rhiannon
08 October 2010 at 15:26
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Bowler Bowles If they have a masterplan, I would guess it would include one that pulled people towards the city centre, whilst leaving the towns that surrounding it empty and ripe for CPO’s and awaiting property developers. Afterall as Citizens of Mancunia, our only role it just to work and exist.
21 September 2010 at 21:30
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Shelley Fallon It would seem Manchester city council want to destroy any history we have!!!
21 September 2010 at 21:18
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Bowler Bowles I think the pub was demolished in 2001. I there are some remnants of it in the memorial garden at the City of Manchester Stadium. I didn’t even know they had a garden!
21 September 2010 at 20:42
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I do not remember a garden, we used to live round the corner in wardlow st.
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Marc Citizen Corinthian Starr This reminds me of another thing MCFC-connected: the City Gates pub. We’re talking a long time before the club moved to Eastlands but one of the many previous administrations that owned the club passed up the chance to buy the building from which the club was founded. I think they were in severe financial difficulties at the time but I was still absolutely gutted (and still am smarting a bit) at the idea they missed a chance to buy it and possibly reconstruct it brick by brick on the scene of the new ground. What a nod to our history that would have been. I once posted something on an unofficial club forum and got a comprehensive and very detailed response off Gary James, the club historian. It was on an old computer so I no longer have it but he’d be able to tell you why the club allowed it to be demolished. It’s very sad we couldn’t have that building on the grounds of Eastlands.
20 September 2010 at 18:56
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Sean LeVegan Business rates are a joke let alone the rates on empty buildings. There are small businesses paying more in rates than they do in rent.
19 September 2010 at 01:
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Bowler Bowles Very good point there, Geoff and you can certainly see so many many buildings around Manchester just falling apart. Every area in my opinion should have an asset register which these pubs would be on. Every building listed and accounted for and every planning application seen with respect to the overall picture of a particular area. Every area, even Miles Platting still as architectural assets and they should be preserved and restored and brought back into use, even if it means a pub may become something else. But everything should be reviewed by a local committee who aren’t dazzled by the property developers coffers. Their review should also take into account the balance, notably if an area as already got 20 takeaways, then maybe they don’t need number 21. When change of use is applied for in terms of pub, especially an historical one, again a review should be done. Manchester to say is 100 years behind where it should and could have been, not 2 or 3rd city in England but on par with London. Every area in Manchester should be thriving with it’s only individuality and character. This sadly will never be the case and the city is lacking too much.
19 September 2010 at 01:19
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Geoff Stafford I think the reason so many empty buildings are being demolished is because Gordon Brown refused to give a reduction on the tax businesses pay on empty buildings. If they demolish the building they pay nothing.
19 September 2010 at 01:00
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