You’ll find one of the world’s coolest streets in Ancoats – in the world’s ‘coolest city’.
Time Out recently released its list of the world’s coolest streets – a collection of 33 places across the globe that feature the best architecture, art and harness great culture.
Sitting at #21 on the list is Cutting Room Square in Ancoats, a much-celebrated place at the centre of a rejuvenated district on the northern edge of Manchester city centre. It’s a square filled with impressive independents, culinary success stories, homes and workspaces and is often bustling with Mancunians and visitors alike.
The article celebrates Ancoats’ “seamless mix of culture, exquisite dining and rich sense of history makes it the coolest street”; the piece also said that Manchester is “the UK’s coolest city”.
Cutting Room Square is one part of Ancoats’ story and undoubtedly a catalyst that has helped inject new life into this area of Manchester; Ancoats was a lead character in the heart of the city’s industrial story and the world’s first industrial suburb. There were cotton mills – a marvel of the late Georgian era – and canals that Historic England described as the “arteries” of the area, with two major waterways that helped textile pioneers reduce their costs, transporting their goods by water instead of road.
Industry helped Ancoats attract a vibrant and diverse population; the area was also once home to a large Italian community who pioneered the British ice cream industry here.
Post war Ancoats sadly fell into decline, with textile mills dwindling since the 1920s. Thankfully the turn of the century brought change, with Ancoats subject to regeneration that has helped earn credits such as Time Out’s latest ranking today.
We are proud to be a part of the neighbourhood. In the early 2000s we brought Waulk Mill back into use, creating new workspaces that remain filled with interesting businesses. In 2016 we acquired Beehive Mill, an important historic building locally which more recently had been the famous home of Sankey’s nightclub. We now have workspaces here and the building is again filled with brilliant organisations – including The Prince’s Trust with whom we worked to create a brilliantly designed ground floor space for young people. We have also helped develop the neighbouring community of New Islington – somewhere now filled with homes, bars, restaurants, a park, a school and a health centre.
The area’s now heralded as one of Manchester’s finest, and somewhere in which we love to spend our time.
You can find out more about Ancoats’ heritage by joining one of these regular tours of the area given by local journalist and historian Jonathan Schofield.
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