Manchester Town Hall reaches major milestone as refurbished roof is unveiled

Regeneration work on Manchester’s Grade I-listed Town Hall will reach a major milestone this week.

The enormous temporary covering, which has kept the building watertight while extensive work has taken place on its Victorian roof, will be removed in sections by a 300-tonne capacity crane.

The news means that the roofline, which has been concealed beneath the temporary roof since spring 2022, will be visible again for the first time in more than three years.

During this time, the project has included replacing more than 100,000 roof slates using slate from the same Cumbrian quarry as the 1870s originals. Each one has been split and trimmed by hand, with traditional detailing carefully copied.

The 37 enormous chimney stacks have been repaired with damaged sections replaced and reconstructed using sandstone, which matches the original in type and carved detail. The capping stones are so large and heavy that they had to be individually lifted by crane.

Tonnes of original cast iron decorative work, known as brattishing, have been removed, repaired, repainted in Burgundy Red — the original colour favoured by town hall architect Alfred Waterhouse — and refixed.

Gutters have been carefully redesigned to meet current standards and ensure easier maintenance. They have been enhanced and enlarged to cope with predicted increases in rainfall and flash storms associated with climate change – helping to futureproof the historic building. Cast iron pipes have been repaired, altered to work more efficiently and again repainted in the original Burgundy Red.

A new LED lighting system has been installed to highlight decorative Gothic Revival architectural features, and almost 1,200 wooden and metal-framed windows have been restored, retaining original glass where possible or using matching handblown glass. The façade includes a number of medieval-style carved stone figures. These have been repaired and securely fixed.

Deputy Leader Councillor Garry Bridges said: “Manchester is getting this beloved landmark back, in magnificent shape. Our once-in-a-century project to repair and restore the town hall is safeguarding it for future generations.

“It is painstaking, complicated and challenging work but it’s a nationally important heritage building and there are no short cuts.

“We’re looking forward to reaching the point where we can welcome people inside again, with greater opportunities to experience its architecture and artefacts. In the meantime, it’s great that people can see more of the progress which is being made.”

The removal of the first half of the temporary roof is scheduled, weather permitting, to begin on Tue 9 Sep with the second half to be removed later in the month.