When most people think about apartment living in Manchester, our minds will conjure up the obvious – a big converted mill building with beams and brick walls.
But those of us who’ve tried flat-hunting in the last decade will know that these beautiful old buildings are actually few and far between these days.
Enter Kampus, and specifically the Minshull Warehouse building, where the apartments are as classically Manchester as it gets.
This former Victorian textiles warehouse (told you it was very Manc) has been converted into a beautiful building of one-and-two bedroom flats, where historic brickwork sits alongside modern, modular fittings.
The building itself is woven into Manchester’s history, having been the birthplace of Baracuta’s iconic Harrington Jacket.
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And now it’s making a modern-day name for itself too, as part of Kampus’s leafy, independent neighbourhood.
Kampus let us into one of the two-bedroom Minshull Warehouse apartments for a nosey, and the pictures really speak for themselves.
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As you walk into this top-floor apartment, the first thing that strikes you is the huge vaulted ceiling, with a skylight insert that is flooding the space with (admittedly rare) sunlight.
It’s a massive open-plan living space, fully furnished with a comfy couch and armchair.
These Kampus apartments come with a huge open-plan living space
The dining area is positioned by a large window that overlooks the carefully landscaped Kampus grounds (this neighbourhood is all about the greenery) and over to the historic university buildings on Sackville Street.
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There’s a well-equipped kitchen too, with an integrated fridge and dishwasher, plus a huge cupboard that’s home to a washing machine.
Another rarity in the Manchester rental market is that the two bedrooms are almost exactly the same size, so there’s no scrapping over who gets lumped with the box room.
The master bedroom in the Minshull Street apartment at KampusThe second bedroom in the Minshull Street apartment at Kampus
The ‘master’ bedroom has its own huge en suite, which is a plus, but the other bedroom can make use of the main bathroom which is also enormous.
And the second bedroom gets an extra built-in wardrobe – we know which one we’d pick.
Throughout the Minshull Street apartment you’ll find restored details amongst the modern makeover, in massive wooden ceiling beams and exposed brick walls.
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And of course, your rent at Kampus doesn’t just cover your beautiful new pad.
Amenities at Kampus include access to a private cinemaThere’s also a roof terrace for Kampus residents
It also includes all the amenities that have been built into the neighbourhood’s redevelopment, from the huge communal gym to the lush gardens.
There’s a roof terrace, a cinema, private dining room, co-working spaces, lounges and loads more facilities exclusively for Kampus residents.
Manchester’s historic connections to slavery will be at the heart of a major new exhibition
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s historic connections to slavery are to be explored during a major new exhibition coming soon to the city.
The Science and Industry Museum, in the heart of our city centre, is already known and loved for telling the story of the ideas and innovations that transformed Manchester into the world’s first industrial city.
But now, a new free exhibition is set to “enhance public understanding” of how transatlantic slavery actually shaped the city’s growth.
Produced by the Science and Industry Museum, in partnership with The Scott Trust Legacies of Enslavement programme, and developed with African descendent and diaspora communities through local and global collaborations, this landmark project will put Manchester’s historic connections to enslavement at the heart of a major exhibition at the museum for the first time.
Featuring new research, it will also explore how the legacies of these histories continue to impact Manchester, the world, and lives today.
Set to open in early 2027, the exhibition will run for a year in the museum’s Special Exhibitions Gallery.
Alongside that hub at the Science and Industry Museum itself, the project is also set to have a collaborative city-wide events programme, and a lasting legacy – with a new permanent schools programme, and permanent displays in the future too.
As mentioned, the new exhibition is part of The Scott Trust Legacies of Enslavement programme, which is a 10-year restorative justice project launched in 2023.
Manchester’s historic connections to slavery will be at the heart of a major new exhibition / Credit: Science Museum Group Collection
Through partnerships and community programmes, the project aims to improve public understanding of the impact of transatlantic slavery on the UK’s economic development, and its ongoing legacies for Black communities – with a strong focus on Manchester, the city in which The Guardian was founded back in 1821.
The museum’s existing gallery content and ongoing work around sharing the inextricable links between Manchester’s growth into an industrial powerhouse and a textile industry reliant on colonialism and enslavement will be developed through the project.
Through a “collaborative re-examination of the past”, the exhibition will also share a more inclusive history of a city that prides itself on being at the forefront of ideas that change the world.
It’s opening at the Science and Industry Museum in early 2027 / Credit: Science and Industry Museum
Speaking ahead of the exhibition’s arrival in early 2027, Sally MacDonald, who is the Director of the Science and Industry Museum, says: “This will be an exhibition about important aspects of our past that are profoundly relevant to the world we live in today.
“Revealed from the perspectives of those who experienced enslavement and whose lives have been shaped by its legacies, we will foreground stories of resistance, agency, and skill.
“The exhibition will explore themes of resilience, identity and creativity alongside exploitation and inequality, and will feature a specific focus on the ways that scientific and technological developments both drove and were driven by transatlantic slavery.”
Further details on the project will be announced in due course, so stay tuned.
Featured Image – Science Museum Group
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Charlotte Dawson will be handing out compliments and big prizes in Manchester to brighten Blue Monday
Daisy Jackson
TV star Charlotte Dawson will be cheering up Blue Monday in Manchester, dishing out compliments to strangers and awarding some big prizes too.
The actress, who is the daughter of the legendary late Les Dawson, will be bringing her signature sunny energy to Printworks on Monday 20 January.
Otherwise known as Blue Monday, it’s believed that the third Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year – so she’s here to nip that in the bud.
Between 1pm and 3pm on the huge gaming screen inside Printworks – part of its £21m transformation that included adding a huge digital ceiling – Charlotte Dawson will be spreading joy and laughter.
She’ll be live streaming straight to passers-by, spreading smiles and dishing out compliments.
Charlotte will also be treating visitors to some amazing prizes from Printworks’ collection of bars, restaurants and leisure venues.
These prizes will include free brunch for four at Walkabout, gaming sessions at Bierkeller, or family cinema tickets with Ice Blasts at VUE. Other prizes include Nando’s vouchers, a drink and activity for two at the new Trax Social, and much more.
And the top prize will be a luxury overnight stay for two at Hotel Indigo, just across the road in the very heart of Manchester.
Charlotte Dawson will take part in Blue Monday at Printworks, Manchester
There’ll even be free coffee vouchers for Todd St Cafe on offer to brighten your Blue Monday.
Kristian Brennan, Marketing Manager at Printworks, said: “We couldn’t be more excited to have Charlotte at Printworks this Blue Monday.
“As a true Mancunian icon, her vibrant personality is exactly what we need to brighten up the most depressing day of the year and we know she’ll bring plenty of laughs and smiles to everyone who stops by.
“What makes this event truly unique is the opportunity for the public to chat with Charlotte under Europe’s largest digital ceiling, which will showcase new mood-boosting content.
“It’s an innovative and exciting way for people to connect, and we can’t wait to see families and friends come together to create joyful memories in this truly unique setting!”