Manchester & County, Piccadilly, 2010. (c) Pubs of Manchester.
Imaginatively referred to the as The Manchester and County on the Wetherspoons website (but referred to locally as simply Wetherspoons), this was the first of five 'Spoons pubs in Manchester city centre, the others being the Moon Under Water (Deansgate), Paramount (Oxford Street), Seven Stars (Printworks) and the Waterhouse (Albert Square).
Banshee, Piccadilly, 1990s. (c) MDMArchive.
This 'Spoons opened in the 1990s after the demise of the demise of the Banshee which had relocated to here from Oxford Street, it is a big open spaced pub with a large capacity, with some nice large pictures of Manchester back in the day hung around the place. One such picture is of Piccadilly Gardens, opposite the pub, in the very early 1900s - when instead of a concrete eyesore, or a sunken gardens (until the early '90s), there stood the imposing Infirmary / Dispensary / Lunatic Asylum and a water feature, seen here in 1910 and here depicted in 1830.
Imaginatively referred to the as The Manchester and County on the Wetherspoons website (but referred to locally as simply Wetherspoons), this was the first of five 'Spoons pubs in Manchester city centre, the others being the Moon Under Water (Deansgate), Paramount (Oxford Street), Seven Stars (Printworks) and the Waterhouse (Albert Square).
This 'Spoons opened in the 1990s after the demise of the demise of the Banshee which had relocated to here from Oxford Street, it is a big open spaced pub with a large capacity, with some nice large pictures of Manchester back in the day hung around the place. One such picture is of Piccadilly Gardens, opposite the pub, in the very early 1900s - when instead of a concrete eyesore, or a sunken gardens (until the early '90s), there stood the imposing Infirmary / Dispensary / Lunatic Asylum and a water feature, seen here in 1910 and here depicted in 1830.
Piccadilly Infirmary. (c) oldukphotos.
As with most of these types of pubs - especially city centre branches - the clientele tends to be generally older folk all day in search of the cheaper drinks and a total mixed bag in the evenings. Food is plentiful and cheap, and it's one of the few places you can go for a breakfast whilst having a pint or bottle to wash it down with.
Manchester & County, Piccadilly, 2010. (c) Pubs of Manchester.
There are always plenty of real ales on (although the last pint we had in here was appalling), however it does tend to be something of a last resort, unfortunately, as this, and 'Spoons in general, tend to be soulless and full of the lower end of society. There is however a place for them on the high street, and the better ones can be excellent. The Manchester & County resides in an older building, a grand-looking the Italianate 1840s warehouse, which you'll never notice if you walk round town with your head down.
Manchester & County, Piccadilly. Tilt-shifted.
bit harsh "the dregs" but a reflection on the very nature of this part of piccadilly,a menagerie of human misfits,drifting together like floating assorted dirt particles gravitating to the lip of an overflowing stinking mop bucket,flowing like raw sewage into the warm sticky dimly lit apron of jdw in search of the perfectly priced pint.
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ReplyDeleteI thought the Moon Under Water on Deansgate came before the Piccadilly one, actually.
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