With its bold green tile-clad exterior and stained glass windows, the Peveril of the Peak is one of Manchester’s most beautiful pubs. It’s also a famous institution in its own right.
Run by one of Britain’s oldest and longest-serving landlords for five decades now, the ‘Pev’ is a great survivor just like its landlady Nancy Swanick.
Aged 93, she celebrated 50 years at the helm tin 2021 and has seen all sorts in her time here: from glasses levitating behind the bar to brewery bosses who wanted to turn the ‘Pev’ into a themed pub with plastic palm trees. Both equally horrifying, we’re sure you’ll agree.
Thankfully, the brewery never got their way and today The Pev is now a respectable institution with a mellow atmosphere and friendly clientele.
No-nonsense County Donegal woman Nancy’s done a lot to turn its reputation around – not least talking the brewery out of the tacky refurb and into a proper refurbishment and restoration of the pub’s historic features.
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Suffice to say, it hasn’t always been the charming, friendly little watering hole we know and love today – in fact, it once had quite a rough reputation.
During the Second World War, the pub was frequently used as a brothel by GI’s, and when Nancy and her late husband first took it over in the 70’s she initially said she didn’t want anything to do with it.
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“You’d get lads coming in straight from work and not leaving until they’d spent their wages and had a punch up,” remembers Nancy’s son Maurice. “Mum told dad she wouldn’t do it.”
Reportedly, in its early years, some of the pub’s biggest customers were factory blokes on their lunch who’d “knock back three pints and a pie without blinking” then head straight back to it.
Today, there’s none of that, really. Locals and students drink happily side by side and there’s a whole host of regulars for whom the pub is more than just a drinking hole, it’s become a home from home.
The last man standing in a row of terraces, it’s now shorn of its original surrounding buildings and stands alone on a small triangular island, surrounded by much taller (and newer) office and apartment blocks.
Visit and you’ll notice various keepsakes nodding to Nancy’s long tenure here, like in the smoke room turned snug where a heavy etched mirror hangs commemorating forty years of Nancy’s proprietorship.
Other treasures hidden inside include an antique “table football” machine and the original bell pushes that customers once used for summoning staff and ordering drinks.
Nancy remains the key decision-maker at the pub and has pulled thousands of pints over the years for punters – including for a whole host of famous customers, most recently football legend Eric Cantona.
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But whilst much has been made of her celebrity clientele (and rest assured, there have been a lot of them) for Nancy and her son Maurice (who helps her run the pub today) the non-famous regulars are much more important.
Stories like that of the Manchester taxi driver who waived Nancy’s fare because of all the happy hours he’d spent in her pub, or the nurse who recently administered her COVID jab waxing lyrical on the Pev after spotting Nancy’s address, mean the most.
“You never get tired of hearing that,” adds Maurice.
The historic Manchester pub is also said to be home to another regular – their very own resident ghost. Over the years, many punters have reportedly seen spooky activity in spades: like pint glasses rising into the air and dropping into the wash of their own accord.
As well as doing a spot of cleaning, the spectre is also known for giving the odd guest a jolly good kick in the back when they’ve had enough to drink, just to help the management out, of course.
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It’s a friendly ghost, as long as you’re not annoying the pub’s proprietors, anyway.
The origins of The Pev itself can be traced back to 1830, when it was first registered as a public house.
Regarding its name, there’s a bit of a dispute with some saying it commemorates a horse-drawn stagecoach that departed from the nearby Peacock Coach Office on Market Street when the pub opened in 1830.
Others say it references the 1823 Sir Walter Scott novel of the same name, which references Peveril Castle near Castleton in Derbyshire.
According to Salford University graduate Erik Merriman, who won an award for his research into the matter, there aren’t any obvious geographical links between the pub name and the novel, but it’s clear that the stagecoach was in operation before the pub opened.
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Of course, that’s not to say that the stagecoach wasn’t named after Walter Scott’s novel.
The only detached pub in the whole of the city centre, it used to only open on Saturdays when Manchester United was playing at home but is now open to drinkers every weekend.
Awarded Grade II-listed status in 1988, the pub continues to resist pressure to close its doors for good and become another victim of city centre ‘regeneration’. It’s truly one of the most iconic pubs in town.
Find it at 127 Great Bridgewater St, Manchester M1 5JQ and rest assured, it’s even more beautiful on the inside.
A huge festival dedicated to tequila and mezcal is coming to Manchester this month
Daisy Jackson
Manchester’s first-ever Mezcal and Tequila Festival is taking place this month, filling Manchester Cathedral with tastings, masterclasses, cocktails and street food.
The massive event will see the Grade I-listed building transformed into an agave spirits tasting floor, featuring more than 100 varieties of premium tequilas and mezcals from some of Mexico’s best producers including El Jimador, Ojo de Tigre, El Sueno, Los Arcos, Del Maguey, Cazcabel, Komos, Nixta, Tapatio, El Tequileno, Tiempo and many more.
Festival-goers will be able to gain exclusive insights into the craftsmanship behind these spirits, sampling (responsibly, of course) from dozens of stands.
All samples, plus a limited-edition clay tasting copita, will be included in the ticket price – there’s no token system here and no extra charges for samples.
The new Mexican-inspired drinks festival only debuted in Glasgow back in Spring 2023 but it unsurprisingly went down an absolute storm – after all, what’s not to like a big festival full of booze?
Bartenders will stir up cocktails at the bespoke cocktail bar while the crowds are kept fed by delicious street food, including Mexican-inspired Taco Or Don’t, previously featured at the British Streetfood Awards.
And it’d be remiss of you to leave the festival empty-handed when you can take a taste of Mexico home from the exclusive bottle shop provided by Drinkmonger on site (with discount tokens included in the ticket price).
A tequila and mezcal festival is heading on Manchester. Credit: Supplied
Colin Campbell, one of Copita’s co-founders said: “We’re really excited to be bringing Copita to Manchester. It’s gone down brilliantly in Glasgow the last two years so we felt now was the right time to take it on the road and we couldn’t think of a better place than Manchester to head to next!
“It’s a really easy-going event with a great atmosphere, lots of local street food, shopping and music, so whether you’re an aficionado or a casual sipper we’re confident you’ll have a great time.”
The Copita Mezcal and Tequila Festival will be at Manchester Cathedral on Saturday 14 September.
Lina Stores – Italian deli restaurant serving homemade pasta and more is heading to Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Lina Stores is set to open its very first restaurant in Manchester early next year, taking its beloved mix of handmade pasta and deli food outside of London for the first time.
80 years after opening for the first time in Soho, Lina Stores is heading north to open a 150-cover restaurant.
Blending coffee shop, delicatessen, restaurant, and bar, the new space will be styled in traditional Lina Stores shades of pastel green hues, warm timber woods, and terrazzo and timber flooring.
You’ll find bespoke marble tables, original vintage Bentwood chairs, dark green booth seating and opaline globe lighting inspired by the original Brewer Street delicatessen.
Diners will be spoilt with an Italian-inspired breakfast menu, featuring dishes like truffle scrambled eggs with toasted sourdough, Greek yoghurt with Italian Macedonia fruit salad, and a selection of breakfast panini.
At lunchtimes and dinner there’ll be antipasti such as ricotta and herb gnudi fritti with Calabrian chilli marmellata, and tuna crudo with capers, pink peppercorn and salsa verde.
Lina Stores Manchester will have the brand’s beloved pasta dishes, such as the 30-egg yolk taglioni with black truffle, and lamb sausage ragu pappardelle, plus new options like lemon sole and potato raviolo.
For secondi (because this is Italy darling, you can have two mains!) there are dishes like chicken Milanese and Luganega fennel sausage.
And for dessert, it’s set to be a feast of Sicilian cannolo (filled with ricotta, pistachio and chocolate) and tiramisu.
Lina Stores – Italian deli restaurant serving homemade pasta and more is heading to Manchester. Credit: Rebecca Hope
In the open-plan delicatessen, you’ll be able to grab filling salads, freshly-made panini, and delicate cakes and pastries.
Shelves will be stocked with Lina Stores Collection pantry essentials, from olive oil to traditional biscotti.
And just next to that will be Bar Lina, serving classic and modern Italian cocktails for aperitivo hour until late at night.
Expect favourites like the bloody martini, Rinomata americano, and the basilico with gin, vermouth, basil and lemon.
The bar will have a versatile wine list from all corners of Italy, including the brand’s own signature collection.
Lina Stores Manchester will be located on Quay Street in the recently-refurbished Quoin building, right opposite the Opera House theatre.
Masha Rener, Head Chef of Lina Stores, said: “We’re extremely excited to be opening in Manchester this spring.
“The city feels like a natural home for us considering the area’s rich history, vibrant culinary scene and lively nightlife, and look forward to sharing our passion of great Italian food and produce with the Manchester community.
“Quay Street is the perfect location for us to do so, sitting right in the trifecta of Spinningfields, St John Street and St Peter’s Square.”