Balloon Vaults, Rochdale Road

Balloon Vaults, Rochdale Road, 1971. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image.

The Balloon Vaults on Rochdale Road at the top of Ludgate Hill was one of the main boozers in Angel Meadow.  It was a Walker & Homfray's house shown closed in 1971, still advertising rums, whiskies, brandies, gins, cordials, liquers (sp) and wines.  The Balloon Vaults was run by Mick Mannion, who used to dress American style with a rodeo hat and belted waist.  He was a strange chap - he used to vault over the bar rather than open the hatch and kept a photo of the jockey Steve Donoghue in the window [1].

Ludgate Hill stretches from Rochdale Road all the way down to Angel Meadow Park, just before you get the to the Marble Arch.  The exact spot where the Balloon Vaults once stood is marked by these two traffic lights at the junction with Thompson Street (compare the modern day view to the 1971 shot).

Former location of Balloon Vaults, Rochdale Road. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

1. Ancoats Lad, Mick Burke / Frank Heaton (1996).