Hidden above The Bank pub on Mosley street lies one of Manchester’s better-kept secrets, the stunning Portico Library.
Accessed via a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it buzzer on Charlotte street, the solid door opens onto a winding staircase, in turn leading to a beautiful hidden library filled with floor-to-ceiling shelves stacked with rows of rare books.
Run using a membership format for over 200 years, it opened its gallery space up to the public in 2017 meaning you can visit and explore some parts of the impressive building – however, unlike your local library, you cannot browse the shelves as the books are very fragile.
There is an annual subscription available for those who want to support the library’s preservation and charitable activities and use the reading room and newspapers (with 70% off for 18-26-year-olds and students of any age) / Image: The Portico Library Sadly, a number of books in the library’s 19th-century collection are damaged to the extent that the team has created an endangered books list / Image: The Portico Library
The second oldest library in the city after Chetham’s, the Portico is home to over 25,000 books and has a long literary history. First established in 1806, its early members included world-famous authors, future Prime Ministers, and leading scientists.
Despite running on a membership format, according to the library’s Events and Programme’s Co-ordinator James Moss, the general public have been encouraged to come in since the 1980s.
“It was initially a members institution but guests were welcome since the very early days of the library,” he added.
Founded at a time when Manchester was becoming the world’s first ‘modern’ city, the Portico was built with wealth amassed by titans of industry involved in colonialism and the industrial revolution.
However, its early members – all men until the Married Women’s Property Act of 1870 – included people from all political perspectives, ranging from radical and liberal abolitionists and anti-poverty campaigners to exploitative factory owners.
The second oldest library in the city after Chetham’s, the Portico is home to over 25,000 books and has a long literary history / Image: The Portico Library Open to the public five days a week, the Portico library also hosts an eclectic calendar of events and exhibitions as well as welcoming guests to visit its cafe and shop / Image: The Portico Library
Once frequented by such famous names as author Elizabeth Gaskell, founder of atomic theory John Dalton, and Peter Mark Roget (who wrote the first English thesaurus), today it is run by a charity and is home to the prestigious Portico Prize, promoting writing and publishing across the north.
The library is also behind the Sadie Massey Awards which nurture literacy and learning among young people.
Within lies a veritable treasure trove of historic literature and rare 19th-century books, including a first translated edition of Goethe’s influential work about how humans perceive and interpret color that is in desperate need of repair.
Sadly, a number of books in the library’s 19th-century collection are damaged to the extent that the team has even created an endangered books list to catalogue those that urgently need restoring.
From historical records, ranging from books of proprietors to minutes books, issue books, and strangers books, to works of poetry and missives on travel, there are some incredible texts stored within its walls.
The Portico Library’s gallery space is open to the public, whilst its reading room is used by researchers, subscribers, volunteers, invited groups, event attendees, and anyone with a reader card (£5 a week) / Image: The Portico Library Originally, the library occupied the whole of the Grade II-listed Mosley street building but today it is constrained to the building’s top floor / Image: The Portico Library
Open to the public five days a week, the Portico library also hosts an eclectic calendar of events and exhibitions as well as welcoming guests to visit its cafe and shop.
The library’s gallery space is now home to a cute cafe where you can dine in on tea, sandwiches, and cake, however, its gorgeous private reading room remains off-limits – with private tours available to those looking to pursue membership to arrange on request.
To find out more about the Portico, visit its website here.
Feature image – The Portico Library
Manchester
The first new tenant of the old Debenhams department store on Market Street has been confirmed
Danny Jones
The first new resident of the Rylands Building on Market Street in central Manchester has been revealed, and it’s a foodie one.
Set to be the maiden opening inside the old Debenhams department store, which closed after more than three decades back in 2021, Rylands’ debut won’t be for another year or so, but it will soon welcome Mancs with an increasingly popular food hall operator making its way up north.
Simply called Market Place, the ever-growing brand is fast becoming a well-established name, with four venues in the capital already and a fifth coming soon.
Rylands will be their first location outside of London, and with 1,300 sqm of space at their disposal, Market Place Manchester is set to make a significant splash on the high street.
A look at Market Place Peckham.A rough idea of what the Manchester branch could look like.
Developers managed to green-light plans for the Grade II-listed building last November, sharing the first details and glimpses of their vision for the instantly recognisable city centre spot, including a whole new rooftop terrace.
Currently earmarked for a late 2026 launch, the former department store (previously Paulden’s) consisted of seven floors but is now set for a four-storey extension that promises to be a massive and varied retail, leisure and business destination that makes the most of the expansive structure.
Not to be confused with the famous John Rylands Library – a much older, more gothic, historic and hallowed hall over on Deansgate – this task of ‘revitalising a Manchester icon’, to quote property firm AM ALPHA, is a huge undertaking.
In charge of the redevelopment since 2023, the group have been outlining a pretty complete overhaul, with plans to convert the upper floors into premium office space, and the creation of a retail arcade at ground level, on which Market Place Manchester will sit.
This particular Manc corner was a bustling food, drink and shopping complex for the longest time, but has been derelict and covered up by boards for what feels like forever, with urban explorers even roaming the large, abandoned building.
Credit: Supplied
Now, though, the new long-term 15-year lease agreement will see the latest food hall kick off a new era for Rylands, delivering socially focused venues and the range of flavourful, vibrant choices of scran that Market Place have become known for.
With sites in St Paul’s, Vauxhall, Peckham, Harrow and soon Baker Street – as well as their eventual Manchester outpost, of course – the chain is getting bigger and better, meaning its arrival in the North West is an exciting one.
AM ALPHA manager Paul Hodgkiss said in an official statement: “Manchester is a city with a vibrant cultural scene – the perfect environment for forward-thinking concepts like Market Place Food Hall…
“The early commitment to Rylands is no coincidence: it reflects the strength of our strategic and forward-looking approach to development. We are not just creating high-quality space – we are setting new standards for urban mixed-use concepts. Interest from further prospective tenants is strong.”
It was only last week that Greater Manchester’s latest market hall, Campfield Studios, said hello to the general public and with House of Social also opening this summer, among several other similar projects, soon you won’t be able to move for more social hospitality scenes like this:
Manchester crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers, even beating out New York along the way.
If there’s one thing Manchester is known and loved for over anything else, it’s music.
From Oasis and Joy Division, to Happy Mondays, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The 1975, and even more modern-day acts, there’s no end to the amount of talented artists this city has produced or been home to over the years, all contributing to Manchester being one of the most prestigious music cities there is.
The city’s live music scene has always been thriving, and that continues right through to this very day, as you’ll see big-name musicians including Manchester as a destination in their UK tour schedules more often than not.
This summer is all set to be a sensational celebration of sound, as not only is an immersive art trail, Music for the Senses, taking over the city from this week, but this year’s annual Manchester Day will be music-themed too, marking one of the biggest years for Manchester music in a long time.
Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers / Credit: Manchester City Council | Eldhose Kuryian (via Unsplash)
Oh, and there’s also the small matter of Oasis reforming for a UK tour, including a run of gigs at Heaton Park this month.
So it’s no surprise that Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers, especially as the IFPI Global Music Report has revealed that the UK has the third largest music market globally – with the music industry’s contribution to the UK economy being £6.7 billion on average.
Taking this recent report into consideration, the experts over at SeatPick have collated data to uncover the best UK cities for music lovers, analysing factors such as the number of concerts, homegrown talents, music businesses, and the total number of music venues, to reveal each city’s overall music score out of 10.
Coming in at second place with a music scene score of 8.97/10 is Manchester.
2025 is all set to be a sensational summer of sound in our city / Credit: Supplied
“Manchester remains one of the UK’s most iconic music cities and with 1,204 concerts between 2025-2026, 116 live music venues, and 380 homegrown acts, the city’s live music offering is as strong as ever,” SeatPick said of its findings.
“2025 is shaping up to be a historic year for Manchester, with Oasis reuniting for the first time in over a decade, with a massive comeback show at Heaton Park – the very spot where they played their last hometown gig in 2009.”
While Manchester may have missed out on the UK’s top spot, with that title going to London, in the global rankings, our city has claimed an impressive sixth place, beating out New York’s influential music scene.
Liverpool and Leeds are two of the other northern cities in the UK’s top 10, taking fifth and sixth place respectively.
“Cities which have a larger number of music businesses are key in creating the perfect city for music fans, as this impacts the city’s cultural, economic, and social vibrancy,” explained Gilad Zilberman, who is the CEO of SeatPick.
“A thriving music scene within a city means it can provide more artistic expression, support a wider range of genres, and enrich the cultural landscape, as well as attracting creative talent.”
Georgina Pellant -
8th October 2021 
