A city that turned rain and factories into two decades of records. Victorian tiles, a converted public toilet, and a jazz room in a warehouse that never stopped booking.
- 1 · The Cold Open
Peveril of the Peak
A green-tiled Victorian island marooned in a car park, run by the same family for decades, table football in the corner. One of the great pubs in England and it knows it without saying so.
est. 1829 · from afternoon · verified Jul 2026
- 2 · The Detour
The Temple
A Victorian public convenience turned into a bar the size of a carriage, down steps in the middle of the road. Elbow wrote about it, the jukebox is legendary, and twenty people is a full house.
the converted toilet · evening till late · verified Jul 2026
- 3 · The Anchor
The Briton's Protection
Murals of Peterloo on the walls, three hundred whiskies behind the bar, and coal fires in winter. Pies, a back room, and the sense that the argument you are having has been had here before.
est. 1811 · day till late · verified Jul 2026
- 4 · The Wildcard
Band on the Wall
A pub that put its stage halfway up the wall in the 1930s and has booked jazz, punk and everything since. Reopened after a serious restoration and still programmes braver than most.
stage on the wall since the 1930s · shows most nights · verified Jul 2026
- 5 · The Last Call
Night & Day Cafe
The Northern Quarter room that gave early stages to half the city's exports and then survived a noise complaint that nearly closed it. Late, loud, and defended by the whole music industry.
the Northern Quarter room · till late · verified Jul 2026