It has been confirmed today that one of Manchester’s oldest and most iconic pubs has been saved from permanent closure.
The Lower Turks Head & Scuttlers Wine Bar at Shudehill has been sold to Cheetham Hill-based brewery chain, Jospeh Holt – an independent family business which operates 127 pubs throughout Greater Manchester and the North West – for an undisclosed sum, and forms part of the brewery’s “ongoing commitment to rejuvenating Manchester city centre” as we begin to emerge from lockdown.
The brewery has plans to drop the name ‘Scuttlers Wine Bar’, and so the pub will become known purely as Lower Turks Head.
Dating back to 1745, The Lower Turks Head was once an old stagecoach stop and enjoyed a proud heritage through successive centuries, before closing its doors last August.
If you’ve ever stepped foot inside the deceptively-deep and roomy venue, you’ll know that the pub is crammed with distinctive fixtures and fittings, including a long wooden bar, checkerboard floors, wooden staircases, cut tables and cubby hole seating.
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Its ornately tiled façade makes it a distinctive landmark in the centre of Manchester too.
The Lower Turks Head
Lower Turks Head is set to reopen to the public by first offering the full range of award-winning Joseph Holt cask ales and lagers, followed by plans to introduce a unique food offering later in the year, and on top of that, as one of central Manchester’s few small pub hotels, it’s also known as a place to enjoy bed and breakfast accommodation, which the brewery has confirmed it will keep operating and let out as the city centre starts to recover.
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Lower Turks Head joins Joseph Holt’s already established collection of city centre pubs, which includes the Ape and Apple, the Crown and Anchor, the Old Monkey, the Eagle Inn and The Shamrock, the latter of which is set to reopen following a full re-development in 2022.
Meet the newest Joseph Holt pub – The Lower Turk's Head, Manchester!
“Joseph Holt is deeply entrenched in the history of Manchester and sees the Lower Turks Head as part of that heritage too,” Marketing Manager, Paul Longmire, said.
“Our brewery has a keen sense of nostalgia but as much as we treasure the past, Joseph Holt regards it as a way of guaranteeing the future of the city too [so] we’re sure the Lower Turks Head, along with our other central Manchester pubs, will lead the way in bringing drinkers back into the city”.
Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
You can now have a private sleepover amongst all the history inside Manchester Museum
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Museum is now offering one lucky family the chance to have a sleepover with Stan the Tyrannosaurus rex.
For the first time in Manchester Museum’s history, one lucky family will be given the chance to experience an incredible night at the museum.
This unique opportunity is being offered as part of a prize draw, allowing visitors to find out what happens once the sun goes down inside the Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery – in the company of Stan, the famous Tyrannosaurus rex, of course.
The Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery is one of the most iconic spaces within Manchester Museum.
Having opened to the public all the way back in 1888, it’s part of the museum’s original building designed by celebrated Alfred Waterhouse, who also designed Manchester Town Hall and London’s Natural History Museum.
Not only will the lucky winning family enjoy an overnight stay in the gallery, but they’ll also be treated to a guided torchlight tour of the galleries after the Museum has closed, as well as other fun activities and a film screening too before bed.
You can now have a private sleepover inside Manchester Museum / Credit: The Manc Group
“We can’t be completely sure what happens when the sun goes down in our Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery, because nobody has ever spent the night in there before, but we can only imagine the kind of fun that can be had with Stan the T. rex and his friends,” said Dean Whiteside, Head of Commercial and Operations at Manchester Museum.
“This is a chance to be a part of museum history and enjoy the kind of once-in-a-lifetime experience you can’t usually buy.
“At the same time, Manchester Museum is a charity so, by getting behind this initiative, you’ll be helping to support vital work that impacts the lives of people across Greater Manchester and beyond.”
Fancy it then? You can enter the prize draw by buying a ticket for £5 from the Manchester Museum Shop, with each ticket counting as one entry and the winner set to be chosen at random from all valid entries.
The prize draw is now open and closes on Monday 28 September 2026.
Emily Sergeant -
30th March 2021 
