The Medieval Quarter Walking Tour

Manchester’s story is written into its buildings – from medieval timber and Gothic stonework through to brick, glass and steel. Here. Then. & Now. is a new series of architect-led walking tours which read that story first-hand, tracing how design, planning and everyday life have shaped the city we see today. Led by Manchester-born architect Ric Frankland, they blend social history with an insider’s eye for the details most people walk straight past.

Ric’s debut route rewinds the clock to the 15th and 16th centuries. The Medieval Quarter Tour retraces Manchester’s oldest streets, taking in the timber-framed Shambles buildings, Chetham’s sandstone cloisters and the intricate woodwork within Manchester Cathedral – plus the ominous-sounding Hanging Bridge, one of the oldest surviving structures in the city. Along the way, archival maps and photographs peel back layers of change, revealing how centuries of rebuilding – from post-war repairs to reconstruction following the 1996 IRA bomb – have reshaped the city’s heart.

The route moves from Manchester’s original Market Place, once the hub of trading life, to the great halls of the Royal Exchange, which is the latest in a long line of exchanges dating back to 1729. More intrigue lies beneath the bustle of Victoria Station, where the River Irk still winds through brick tunnels alongside traces of the medieval city. And while you’re in the railway station, you’ll take a moment of reflection at the Glade of Light Memorial, which remembers those who lost their lives in the 2017 arena attack, just paces away.

For Ric, these tours are a natural extension of his work as an architect amid Manchester’s shifting skyline. He’s fascinated by how places evolve – how design, planning and everyday life leave their marks. He also loves unearthing hidden facts and reading the city’s clues, and Manchester is the perfect scale for it: big enough to be global, small enough to feel connected – and perfectly walkable.

Weaving together design, history and human experience, this tour connects places, people and events in a way that deepens your sense of the city, whether you’re seeing it for the first time or the thousandth. Expect to step away knowing more, and noticing more, as you walk the same streets with a sharper eye.