An abandoned pub building tucked away beneath and next to Victoria Station in Manchester city centre has been put on the market.
And it gives curious Mancunians the unique opportunity to take a look at what’s left inside.
While the full market listing – which has been put up to let with Leeds-based commercial estate agents Lambert Smith Hampton – also includes a “basement commercial opportunity” underneath the station itself, the street level part of the 4,154 sq ft site will likely be more familiar to passers-by.
This site – a recognisable glass-roofed space on Victoria Station Approach – was historically home to the British Railways Staff Association (B.R.S.A.) Club and operated as a traditional working men’s club.
It was also more recently home to the Snippers hair salon.
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Although the exact floorplan for the full unit has not been released, it has been confirmed that the old B.R.S.A. Club includes a bar and seating area, a billiards room, a cellar and two large rooms, and according to the property listing on Rightmove, the unit is in need of “significant investment and refurbishment”.
That above description is likely why the premises have become somewhat of an interest to urban explorers over recent years.
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Exploration trips inside the huge space have found a number of abandoned bars and stages that have fallen into a state of disrepair.
A full 53-minute long exploration video posted onto YouTube by The Urban Collective shows “a full top to bottom permission explore of Manchester’s iconic Victoria station including the now derelict B.R.S.A club and its stunning secret underground”, and was described by the creator as “one of the best explores I’ve done and one I will never forget”.
And more photos on the urban exploration blog 28 Days Later show posters still on the walls and cases of beer bottles still stacked in the cellar, as well showing that the site appears to also have retained some of its historic features, such as the Victorian gloss tiling and stained glass windows.
According to ORR Station Usage data provided by Lambert Smith Hampton, the commercial unit will be in the line of more than eight million pedestrians a day.
The “prominent” location of the unit also means it is “suitable for a variety of commercial uses”.
You can have a nosey at the Rightmove listing in full here.
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Gavin and Stacey will return with a 2024 Christmas special for its final episode
Danny Jones
After some pretty big rumblings earlier this year, it’s finally been confirmed that Gavin and Stacey will be returning for a Christmas special this year and what will be its last-ever episode.
The beloved British comedy last aired back in 2019 with their previous Christmas special and fans of the show have been crying out for more ever since.
Well, it turns out they’ll be getting just one more go around the block as co-creators James Corden and Ruth Jones revealed that they have now finished writing their third and final Xmas special which will tie a festive bow on the trio of series which started all the way back in 2007.
Sharing a picture of the script on social media, the pair wrote: “Some news… It’s official!!! We have finished writing the last ever episode of Gavin and Stacey. See you on Christmas Day, BBC One. Love Ruth and James”.
However, what was actually going on was a bit of a red herring as she carefully chose to talk down any notions of another series but didn’t categorically dismiss the potential Christmas special.
In fact, she actually went on to add: “All I can say is, if there was something to say on that front, James [Corden] and I would happily announce it, we would.”
And that’s exactly what they’ve done. Well played, Nessa.
As for details surrounding the final chapter in the Gavin and Stacey story, we have very few details at this stage but fans of the iconic show will already be wondering how they might pick up from where certain threads left off.
Production companies Baby Cow, Corden’s Fulwell 73 and Jones’ Tidy Productions are all behind the special and, given the momentous occasion, it will likely have a primetime slot on the TV guide when it finally rolls around this holiday season.
So get your remotes, baubles and bhunas at the ready because Gavin and Stacey is coming back for one last time and it’s sure to be a TV event that people all across the UK will remember for years to come.
Featured Images — BBC/James Corden (via Instagram)
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Everton manager Sean Dyche randomly pops up in the music video for Blossoms’ new single – and he’s great
Danny Jones
Did anyone else think they’d ever see Sean Dyche make his acting debut in the role of a Northern crime boss in a silly little music video for the Blossoms?
No, us neither but that’s the bizarre alternate reality we’re living in, apparently.
Blossoms are currently working on the fifth studio album and have already released their lead single entitled, ‘To Do List (After The Break-Up)’, but now they have a new song out as well, with a rather amusing music video to go along with it and somehow Sean Dyche has found himself the star.
The Stockport band teased the curious collaboration in April, giving us just short glimpses of the Everton manager and former Burnley boss with very little explanation – all we know is that it looked funny and it was.
Dyche is still busy trying to finish the Premier League campaign as strong as possible after successfully navigating the Toffees to safety even in spite of their points deductions this season, but it sounds like keeping them up has given him enough time to moonlight as an actor.
Sending the indie five-piece on a mission to collect something of value (yes, that’s all the info we have at this point as the story is still to be continued), it looks like the Kettering-born coach has a larger role to play in whatever this narrative turns out to be.
Playing what can only be described as some kind of semi-Manc mafia figure on the hunt for a very valuable piece of art, i.e. a big giant gorilla statue – one that many Stopfordians spotted being lugged around various parts of the borough –
They also shared a little bit of BTS footage from the shoot for the music video last week. Some lovely head-bobbing and unassuming surroundings here:
As for the track itself, it’s a bit of stylistic change for the lads who’ve mastered their 80s-tinged indie formula over the past decade but it’s an absolute pop and is already stuck in our heads.
Revealing that they’ve collaborated with contemporary funk, disco and electronic icons Jungle on the track, it doesn’t take too long to hear the influences. Look forward to hearing it at Wythenshawe Park this summer.
You can watch the music video for ‘What Can I Say?’ and the ginger-goatee’d football manager extraordinaire in full character HERE.
He’s not the only footballing figure who’s made an entertainment crossover recently either.