Professor Dale Townshend Inaugural Lecture: From ‘Castles in the Air’ to the ‘Topographical Gothic’: Architecture, History, Romance, 1760–1840

Creative Tourist

Professor Dale Townshend Inaugural Lecture: From ‘Castles in the Air’ to the ‘Topographical Gothic’: Architecture, History, Romance, 1760–1840 at MMU Geoffrey Manton Building, Manchester 20 October 2016 Entrance is free — Visit now

This lecture seeks to explore how Gothic narratives of the late eighteenth century, though once played out against backdrops of imaginary castles and abbeys in Continental Europe, eventually came to be set in the ‘real’ Gothic ruins of Great Britain

Professor Dale Townshend Inaugural Lecture: From ‘Castles in the Air’ to the ‘Topographical Gothic’: Architecture, History, Romance, 1760–1840 at MMU Geoffrey Manton Building, Manchester 20 October 2016 Entrance is free Visit now

Where to go near Professor Dale Townshend Inaugural Lecture: From ‘Castles in the Air’ to the ‘Topographical Gothic’: Architecture, History, Romance, 1760–1840

exterior of Contact Theatre building
Manchester
Theatre
Contact Theatre

Following a major redevelopment, the iconic venue on Oxford Road will be reopening its doors to welcome the public back into the building this autumn. 

Manchester
Music venue
The Deaf Institute

The Deaf Institute is a vibrant gig venue and nightclub for which it is well worth taking a jaunt out of the Northern Quarter.

Manchester
Catalog Bookshop

Find Peter and his Christiania cargo bike around All Saints Park, a hop, skip and a bunnyhop from Manchester Poetry Library.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
Sandbar

Sandbar, just off Oxford Road in Manchester, is a well-loved watering hole, with a great selection of ales and some eccentric seating.

Johnny Roadhouse store
Manchester
Shop
Johnny Roadhouse

Buffeted by fried chicken outlets, legendary musical instrument emporium Johnny Roadhouse has been serving the local music community for over 50 years.

Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Eighth Day

Eighth Day is a co-operative shop that sells ethically-sourced food, wine and cosmetics. There’s also café that serves hearty, healthy meals in the basement.

Manchester
Event venue
The Proud Place

Based in the heart of Manchester on Sidney Street, The Proud Place houses The Proud Trust and serves as a community hub for the wider LGBT+ population across Greater Manchester and beyond.

What's on: Festivals

Pride in Trafford
FestivalsManchester
Pride in Trafford 2025

Trafford’s six-day annual celebration of LGBTQ+ arts is back for 2025. Expect performance, comedy, conversation and family fun happening across Sale and Altrincham.

from £0.00
Three men sit next to each other. One's head is bandaged, one holds a torch and one wears a sleepmask.
CinemaManchester
Wes World at HOME

Take a trip back into the world of Wes Anderson this May as HOME present a series of the acclaimed auteur’s most beloved films alongside The Phoenician Scheme.

from £7.95

Culture Guides

portrait of Lorsung in a dark shirt with dark hair and dark round glasses
Literature Events in the North

We've got laughs and we've got leftfield on the live literature radar this month. Something for everyone, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.

Sextile
Music in the North

Open air clubs, new festivals and long-awaited gigs. The North West's live music scene is heating up this spring. 

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.

Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Exhibitions in the North

Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month

Three men sit next to each other. One's head is bandaged, one holds a torch and one wears a sleepmask.
Cinema in the North

Live scores, midnight movies and the latest from Wes Anderson are just some of our upcoming film highlights.