#shambles square

[themancorialist]

Shambles Square, Manchester.

[manchestergalore]

St Ann’s Square looking towards demolition of Shambles Square (ahead of constructing New Cathedral Street)

March 1998

[manchestergalore]

View from Shambles Square towards the Arndale Centre and Corporation Street following demolition of M&S (part of store still visible on right). 

July 1997 

provided by Stephen Welsh for the book Rebuilding Manchester

[themancorialist]

Shambles Square, Manchester. 

[manchestergalore]

Construction of Longridge House, Corporation Street, Manchester, start of excavations

1st November 1957

[manchestergalore]

Shambles Square, showing Sinclairs Oyster Bar 

1984

[manchestergalore]

The Old Wellington Inn lifted up for relocation

1972

[manchestergalore]

On 15th June 1996, the IRA left an 8000lb (4-tonne) lorry-bomb in the centre of the shopping area in Manchester on a Saturday morning.

In the first map, the red area was very badly damaged - most of it was still a fenced-off construction zone one year later. Some buildings had to be demolished completely, others are now being rebuilt. The yellow area was also very badly damaged, although most of it has now been repaired.

The blue line represents the police cordon that was was placed around the city for 4 days after the bomb. Almost the entire city was closed for half-a-week except to emergency and construction workers.

In the second map, the red inner circle was the site of the bomb. This was parked outside Marks and Spencer's, on the busiest pedestrian crossing in the shopping area. The outer red area was very badly damaged, most of it was still closed-off in mid-1997.

[...] It is interesting to consider that around 10% of the population of Manchester are Irish or of Irish descent. (Anthony Goodall)