The Old Wellington: Manchester Travel Guide (4.6★)

Black beams among the glass

The building dates from around 1552. Its black-and-white timber frame stands out against the glass of the modern city centre around Exchange Square. It is Manchester’s oldest surviving timber-framed building, and it has been moved twice.

It once stood on the old Market Place. In the 1970s it was raised up to make room for the Arndale development. After the 1996 IRA bomb it was taken apart and rebuilt about 300 metres away, in Shambles Square, in 1999. It now shares the square with Sinclair’s Oyster Bar. In 1692 the poet John Byrom was born here. He wrote the hymn “Christians, Awake” and devised a system of shorthand.

Inside the timber frame

Inside you’ll find low ceilings and heavy beams, with floors that tilt and creak the way old timber floors do. The rooms are small and spread over several levels, so climb the stairs before you decide the place is full.

The editorial summary covers it: real ales and a menu of hearty pub grub. Expect British pub classics rather than anything elaborate. Prices are mid-range for the city centre. In fine weather, everyone heads for the tables out in Shambles Square, in the shadow of the cathedral.

Ordering at the bar on Shambles Square

This is not a quiet local’s secret. It is one of the city’s most-reviewed pubs and very well visited, so plan around the crowds.

• Order at the bar. As in most British pubs, there is no table service for drinks. Food is usually ordered at the bar too: give your table number when you do.
• No tip is expected for drinks. Card and contactless are standard.
• Ask what’s on cask. The handpumps on the bar are the real ales. Bar staff will usually let you taste one before you commit.
• Bring ID if you look young. UK pubs check under the Challenge 25 policy.
• Go early to get a seat. It currently opens at 10am every day. A late-morning or early-afternoon visit usually beats the after-work rush and the weekend evenings, when the square fills shoulder to shoulder.
• Watch for matchdays and December. Football crowds and the Christmas markets around Exchange Square and Cathedral Gardens both pack the area.

Getting there and nearby

The nearest tram stop is Exchange Square on the Metrolink, a two-minute walk away. From Manchester Victoria station it’s about five minutes on foot, past the cathedral. The address is 4 Cathedral Gates, M3 1SW.

Current hours:

• Monday to Thursday: 10am–11pm
• Friday and Saturday: 10am–midnight
• Sunday: closes earlier, at 10:30pm

An hour is enough for a pint and a look around. Allow two if you’re eating. Pair it with these neighbours, all within a few minutes’ walk:

• Manchester Cathedral, right next door
• Chetham’s Library, the oldest public library in the English-speaking world
• The National Football Museum, in the glass Urbis building
• The Corn Exchange, now restaurants under a domed roof

Fill in the rest with a drink at Sinclair’s across the square.