Report - Britannia Hotel, Manchester - Jan 2014

[Marsden1002]

Hello All!

The building is known as Watts Warehouse, which is a large, ornate Victorian Grade II* listed building which stands on Portland Street in the centre of Manchester, England. It opened in 1856 as a textile warehouse for the wholesale drapery business of S & J Watts, and was the largest single-occupancy textile warehouse in Manchester. Today the building is part of the Britannia Hotels chain.

The textile industries that built Manchester eventually dwindled, and like many other industrial structures in the North of England, Watts Warehouse fell into disuse and was derelict for many years. The building was threatened with demolition in 1972, but was spared. In the 1980s, the building underwent conversion, retaining many of the original interior features. In May 1982, the Britannia Hotel opened as part of the Britannia Hotels chain originally with 25 rooms and a nightclub, eventually expanding to 363 bedrooms

Explored this with Stephen_wolf on a rather damp, windy January night. With no real rooftops to "hit" we decided upon trying a few which we was quite pleased with. Didn't really get any of Manchester's streets, just of the overall view.