walking tour: The Medieval Quarter

Join us for a walking tour: Manchester's Medieval Quarter!

Date: Multiple (plus other dates - please see our tour calendar)

Time: 10.30am - 12.30pm

Location: New Cathedral Street (meeting place)

Part of a series of architect-led walking tours that read Manchester’s evolution first-hand… routes that trace change from Roman and medieval beginnings, through canals, mills and railways, to the city’s post-industrial reinvention and it’s new skyscrapers.

Using archival photos and maps alongside today’s streets, we’ll reveal what changed, why it changed, and what those decisions mean for people and place.

Walking from market stalls to marble halls, we trace how trade, resilience, and reinvention have continually reshaped Manchester’s core.

For further details, FAQs and other dates, please visit:

We first visit Manchester’s oldest surviving building, where the city’s story begins. From here we move towards the church that later became the Cathedral, once the focal point of a small but ambitious market town. Stepping from its grounds into the medieval marketplace, we explore the streets where trade laid the foundations for Manchester’s growth.

As we follow this route forward, we also look at the moments when the city was forced to rebuild. The wartime bombings - and later the IRA attack - left deep scars but also prompted major shifts in planning, architecture and the way people use the city centre, for better and for worse.

We finish at the Royal Exchange, tracing how faith, commerce, adversity and reinvention have continually reshaped Manchester’s core.

Also check out other Meetups in Manchester.