A historic corner of the Science and Industry Museum is set to be turned into holiday accommodation, with overnight stays starting from next year.
The Grade I-listed Station Agent’s House, which dates from 1808, will be able to sleep eight people thanks to a partnership between the beloved museum and The Landmark Trust.
The beautiful building on the corner of Liverpool Road and Water Street is one of the city’s oldest surviving Georgian houses.
Following a sensitive repair programme, the house will be made available to all through self-catering stays and free public open days.
Over the years, it’s been used as a home, then as a shop, but hasn’t been suitable for museum gallery use because of its size and layout.
The Station Agent’s House is considered one of the UK’s most significant heritage buildings, pre-dating even the Science and Industry Museum‘s Grade I-listed 1830 station, which is the oldest surviving passenger railway station in the world.
The Station Agent’s House at Science and Industry Museum. Credit: David Oates
This corner of Manchester was home of the world’s first steam-powered, inter-city railways designed to carry both passengers and goods.
The adjacent 1830 Station is currently being repaired ahead of re-opening to the public in future years as part of the museum’s major conservation and redevelopment plans.
The house’s redevelopment is the latest milestone in the museum’s multi-million pound redevelopment, which has included the opening of the beautiful Special Exhibitions Gallery.
Soon, there’ll be a new experience in the 1830 station, a Wonderlab gallery for children, a new entrance route through to Factory International, significant new outdoor landscaping and public realm provision and opportunities for outdoor play.
The Station Agent’s House will be the Landmark Trust’s first property in the region. The charity is seeking to fundraise a final £118,000 to cover the restoration, following early support from donors and previous legacy income.
The Station Agent’s House. Credit: David OatesCredit: David OatesHistoric platform and the Science and Industry Museum’s 1830 Station. Credit: David Oates
Sally MacDonald, director of the Science and Industry Museum says: “We are delighted that the Landmark Trust will be bringing their expertise in sensitively restoring incredible heritage buildings to enable Station Agent’s House to be experienced by the public for the first time.”
Anna Keay, director of The Landmark Trust says: “The Landmark Trust is delighted to be working with the Science and Industry Museum at historic Liverpool Road, site of the world’s oldest surviving passenger railway station.
“The Station Agent’s House, around which the pioneering station was created, is an outstanding piece of industrial heritage. The building will be sensitively repaired and made available to all through self-catering stays and free public open days. As a charity, the Landmark Trust is committed to saving and sustaining outstanding heritage, and is thrilled to be playing a role in Manchester.”
Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council says: “We welcome this exciting partnership and the Landmark Trust to Manchester as part of the Science and Industry Museum’s pioneering improvement plans. This scheme will enable people to enjoy an important aspect of our city’s heritage for the first time as part of a thriving and rejuvenated destination.”
Sheona Southern, managing director of Marketing Manchester says: “Manchester’s rich history is woven into the fabric of Station Agent’s House, and we are thrilled to see the Landmark Trust’s redevelopment plans that will preserve its incredible heritage while opening up a new chapter for the building.
“Located in the historic Castlefield neighbourhood, Station Agent’s House will join local residents such as the Science and Industry Museum, Castlefield Viaduct, and Factory International, undoubtedly adding to the city’s already vibrant cultural scene and will also serve as a truly unique addition to the city-region’s growing accommodation offer.”
Calum McGowan, chair, Castlefield Forum says: “We are absolutely thrilled at these proposals, and what great news to see more of the museum’s estate come to life. Part of our mission at the Forum is to ensure that we celebrate and cherish the heritage assets in our neighbourhood so this is another great contribution towards that. The building looks set to be a wonderful place to stay, on iconic site, in an iconic neighbourhood!”
Featured image: David Oates
Travel & Tourism
There’s a 13-seat, BYO-beer bike you can ride around Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Who’s in the market for an incredibly silly, quite boozy, bit different activity in Manchester? Because we’ve got just the ticket.
The Manchester Beer Bike is a 13-seat bicycle/tram/bus hybrid contraption thing (not its official name) which you can now rent for rides around the city centre.
If you’ve never seen one of these before, essentially you can all your mates sit around a bar, except you’re on saddles, and your feet are on pedals.
Imagine a tandem bicycle, but the size of a small van and with space for a dozen people, and you’re on the right lines.
We took the Manchester Beer Bike out for a spin, so if you’ve been curious what’s in store, let us break it down for you.
Your experience kicks off at The Trading Route at St John’s, which is the official pick-up point for this tour.
Which is handy, because the bike is BYO-booze, and The Trading Route is a proud stockist of Manchester Union Lager, among other drinks from its on-site shop.
Once you’ve gathered up your beverages, it’s on to the bike itself, where you can perch yourself on a saddle or (if you’re lucky) sit on the bench at the back and make your mates do all the hard work for you.
And it is, actually, surprisingly hard work when you’re going uphill. You’ll be grateful for your cans of beer, let’s put it that way.
Your experience is led by a driver who’ll keep you on track and make sure your own playlist is blasting from the Bluetooth speakers on board.
Manchester Union Lager aboard the Manchester Beer BikeNothing but happy, smiling (and tipsy) faces.Credit: The Manc Group
The route the Manchester Beer Bike takes heads up Peter Street from St John’s, passing landmarks like the Albert Hall, the Great Northern Warehouse, the Midland Hotel and the Central Library.
Then it takes a turn onto Portland Street and loops through a section of Chinatown, before heading back along the other side of the Manchester Art Gallery and Manchester Town Hall.
Then it’s down Deansgate, with the towering Deansgate Square skyscrapers in front of you, before you turn back down towards St John’s.
Along the way, you WILL hold up traffic, and you will get honked at – but you also find a lot of people laughing at you, and it’s kind of nice to spread such joy on your afternoon jaunt.
It’s a wheelie good laugh, promise… Find out more and book your spot HERE.
Jason Manford has final word on ‘naughty’ rule that sparked unexpected Village Hotel experience
Danny Jones
Local comedian Jason Manford has shared “the last I’ll say on the matter between The People vs The Village Hotel”, after expressing his disappointment over a rule that saw him have a somewhat unexpected experience at one of their locations.
The Salford-born and Stockport-based stand-up was forced to share his room with another individual at The Village in Bournemouth after being told the hotel was fully booked.
Manford‘s room had essentially been resold, which led him to stay in a double with his friend and colleague; however, as explained in multiple videos, not everyone was fortunate enough to secure a last-minute solution.
Still, on the upside, at least they didn’t have to share a bed…
As detailed in the first of three posts seen above, Manford and co. arrived at the hotel late (as is typically the case with any touring comedian, especially a headliner) following his gig at the Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre on Sunday, 29 June.
The 44-year-old is currently on his ‘A Manford All Seasons’ tour, which saw a flurry of new dates added back in November, and got underway back in February.
Although he assured that the staff did their job and were “lovely” through the whole ordeal, he reiterated that he found the little-known rule “very naughty” and “not on”.
He also mentioned that a doctor who arrived shortly after them at the hotel reception, sadly, had to be turned away from the Bournemouth branch.
Manford went on to add that the hotel manager did apologise for the situation, but as he notes in the clips, the worry is that it could cause even bigger dilemmas if it were a wedding, someone with kids, “or a million different situations that you could have been in which are much more serious than [his].”
Essentially, the duo were just lucky they turned up when they did and said as much.
Despite noting that he’d heard of airlines opting for similar policies in the past, he confessed he’d never come across such a rule in more than “25 years of touring” as a comic.
Echoing his frustration, surprise and concern, musician Georgina Jackson said in the comments: “That is so bad! As a touring lone female musician who uses hotels a lot, what are we expected to do? But the fact is… they don’t really care…
“Thanks for highlighting it, as they might actually start caring when the bookings drop off! And, I imagine the hotel/town was busy with your audience!! How blinking ironic!!”
The hotel group has since asked the Salfordian funny man to take the very public complaints down, but Manford has refused despite them requesting quite “politely”, insisting that he believes more people need to know about obscure and largely unknown rules like these.
You can see the most recent and final statement on the whole Jason Manford-Village Hotel situation in full down below.
Daisy Jackson -
27th April 2023 
