Manchester

[crgb14]

Is it true that Manchester city centre has a giant network of underground tunnels and roadways?

Also, a family friend reckond that directly under Deansgate there is a road that runs directly beneath and is apparently some old victorian highstreet or something. You could apparently enter from the ancoats end near some underground toilets?? He's a pretty serious guy by the way. 

[Peter Pedant]

There is certainly the rumour.

There are certainly tunnels, as there are in any city and it just depends on how extensive.

City levels rise - what with dirt being ground in and so on, and if you go to Victoria Bridge, and look along the line of Deansgate, just above water level, blocked in windows of the then ground floor - Not much to look at  - in case massed ABers and go out and moon over Victoria Bridge......(moon has a meaning of gawk open-mouthed as well as others...)

Hope this helps

 

PP

[spainlads]

Check out http://www.cybertrn.demon.co.uk/guardian/

for some info.

There was going to be a tunnel linking Manchester Victoria and Manchester Piccadilly railway station, and with this in mind they actually built a railway station under the Arndale Centre when they were building it.

The cost was much too much for a tunnel link, so it never happened. Manchester now has the 'Metrolink' tram system of course.

[Glossopswift]

An ex-colleague did some consultancy work for Manchester City Council andhad to go down some of the tunnels - he entered just by the Mancunian Wayin Chorlton-on-Medlock somewhere. I used to have an excellent book about the underground rivers of Manchester. These are so numerous, and have been diverted so many times, that no-one knows exctly where they are anymore.

[acw]

Wow - how cool!  But we can't get into them at the moment right?  Honestly, my friends have been going on about the traffic on the southern corridor (Oxford Road, Wilmslow Road) and saying how we should have a subway!  I had no idea the makings of one were already in place in some areas!  I'd love to find out more!  I shall try to do so over the summer!  Very interesting stuff guys! :-)

[crgb14]

Great stuff.

One more thing is that - although i'd probably get arrested for this - apparently, the 'perfect crime' could be to perform an act of theft in the city centre and excape un-noticed via the underground canal systems on a boat.

This was a suggestion quite some years ago so i'm not sure that it would work today....probably though.

My old construction lecturer said that he worked on the arndale in the 70's and that there were actual roads under picadilly gardens.

[canal boy]

There is an extensive networks of canals under manchester, but the majority of them are now blocked off.  They were constructed to service the cotton industry in the 1700/1800s.

There is also a network of air-raid shelters, which can still be reached; one point of entry is underneath the GMEX building, which used to be Central Station.

I have heard rumours of a tunnel leading from the Cathedral at Deansgate through to Gorton Priory (monestry) - but such rumours have never been substanciated.