Last chance to visit: Manchester Town Hall is closing until 2024

Manchester Town Hall closes to the public on Monday 15 January 2018 for a six-year programme of restoration and renovation works. A classic example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, the Grade I listed building celebrates its 140^th birthday this year. The building is famous for its cinematic appearances, standing in for Westminster Palace in 2008’s Sherlock Holmes and 2011’s The Iron Lady. The Great Hall is home to the murals by Ford Madox Brown while the Sculpture Hall includes busts of countless notable Manchester residents, including scientists James Joule and John Dalton. Along with the Great Hall and Madox Brown’s murals, the renovation will restore all the State Rooms, the Lord Mayor’s Suite and the stained-glass windows. A selection of sculptures and plaques will remain on show elsewhere in the Town Hall complex – location TBC. So – when can you squeeze in one final visit before its slated reopening in 2024? While the building is accessible 24/7 until Monday 15 January, the famous Sculpture Hall, the visitors centre and  are open 9am – 5pm Mon – Fri, so be sure to take advantage before it’s too late. Get more info about the building and the intended works from the Council and Town Hall sites.

Closes Mon 15 Jan, Manchester Town Hall, Albert Square, Manchester M60 2LA. Tel: 0161 234 4343, Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm, FREE, www.thetownhallmcr.co.uk