10 Interesting Facts about Manchester Landmarks

The city of Manchester has a proud history of bold landmarks and incredible buildings. Property companies like RW Invest are continuing Manchester’s tradition for cutting edge design with new developments around the city. These 10 interesting facts about Manchester landmarks capture the city’s unique and historic atmosphere.

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• Manchester is well known for its canals, in fact, ‘Canal Mania’ began in 1761 when The Bridgewater Canal became the first man-made waterway in Britain. This ground-breaking canal was the first artificial waterway which was fully independent of natural rivers.

• The Stockport viaduct, Greater Manchester, was constructed with an incredible 11 million bricks, making it one of the UKs largest brick-built structures. It was completed in 1840 and at the time of its construction it was the largest viaduct in the world.

• Manchester’s famous Royal Exchange Theatre looks like something from outer space and its seven-sided theatre module is an impressive feat of engineering. The theatre module is suspended from four of the Hall’s enormous columns. All 760 seats of the theatre are no less than nine metres from the stage, which is why the theatre in the round design is so effective.

• There are 98 train stations in Greater Manchester. These include Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Oxford Road.
• Manchester also has the shallowest railway tunnel in the UK. At one point, the top of the brick arch is less than two feet underground.

• Manchester is also home to the oldest railway station in the world – Liverpool Road station. The world’s first railway line that ran between Manchester and Liverpool opened on 15th September 1830 and ran from the station.

• Another unusual Manchester landmark is the statue of Archimedes and his Eureka moment. This bold statue was erected by the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in 1990 and has been a popular addition to the university campus.

• The UK’s first free library can also be found in Manchester. It was opened in 1653 and has been in continuous use since that date, over 350 years. An amazing 60,000 of the 100,000 volumes of books there were published before 1851 and the library also has letters, deeds, glass lantern slides and manuscript diaries.

• The Victoria Baths on Hathersage Road, Manchester were opened to the public in 1906. They were described as “the most splendid municipal bathing institution in the country” and “a water palace of which every citizen of Manchester can be proud.”  The Victoria Baths were enjoyed by the people of central Manchester for 87 years and there are plans to reopen and restore this historical site.

• The statue of Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln Square, Manchester is due to a surprising connection between Manchester and the famous US president. The people of Manchester were determined in their effort to support Abraham Lincoln and his campaign to end slavery during the American Civil War. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Phelps Taft from Cincinnati, Ohio, donated the statue. It was originally placed in the grounds of Platt Hall in 1919 and moved to Lincoln Square on Brazennose Street in 1986.