A new era for Campfield Market beckons as the historic halls reopen this summer

The Campfield Market halls will enter a new chapter in their nearly 150-year-long history this summer as they reopen as a trendy cafe-bar and creative offices, and the home of Blue Peter.

The late June relaunch will be the latest development in the unusual history of the Liverpool Road grade-II listed halls, which have been markets, exhibition spaces, a library, a barrage balloon factory, and a museum over the decades.

The duo have been rebranded — Lower Campfield Market is now just ‘Campfield’ and Upper is ‘Campfield Studios’ — as they now form a key part of Allied London’s billion-pound St John’s project, which bosses hope will have a similar effect on Manchester as opening the Guggenheim gallery had on Bilbao in the late 90s.

But the Campfield pair have already had a huge impact on Manchester; bringing in the age of the automobile, helping with the city’s fight against the Nazis, and wowing Mancs for generations.

Campfield Market

Here, I Love MCR  takes a look at the history of the buildings.

Fields inhabited the area where Campfield sits now, known as ‘Camp Field’ until the early-1800s.

At the start of the 19th century, Sir John Parker Mosley Bart opened the ‘Knott Mill Fair’, which ran an open-air market when the fair was closed.

With the idea of holding markets near the Roman fort well-established, the ‘Manchester Markets Committee’ decided to commission two sheltered markets in 1876, launching a design contest won by Mangnall and Littlewoods, according to Heritage Architecture Ltd, the firm which has helped keep the fabric of the buildings intact with the latest development.

The Lower Hall

The Lower Hall started work first, and during building Manchester Corporation debated demolishing St Matthew’s church, which sat between each market hall, even though it only opened 50 years earlier and was designed by Houses of Parliament architect Sir Charles Barry.

That plan never came to fruition, although St Matthew’s was later demolished in 1952 to make way for offices.

It took just two years to build the Lower Hall. The Upper Hall’s birth was more painful.

No. 2 Market

‘No. 2 Market’, as it was termed, took longer to start building and was plagued by uncertainty. No final plan was made for its eastern end, fronting on to Deansgate, before construction commenced.

That led to debate again raging within Manchester Corporation for three years on how to finish the Hall, but it was ultimately decided a ‘frontispiece’ building would serve as a new Free Library and entrance to the market.

It’s now used by the Instituto Cervantes Spanish language centre, where there is still a library.

By 1882, both markets were operational. But they weren’t successful.

So just 12 years after opening, Manchester Corporation changed tack on Campfield, and used it as a fruit auction saleroom for produce brought in via the Manchester Ship Canal, which terminated nearby.

A few years later, in 1907, conventions were introduced after St James’ exhibition hall was demolished on Oxford Street. One of the first exhibitions in Campfield was the RAC’s motor show, and they would return two years later as Campfield was renamed ‘Manchester City Exhibition Hall’.

Exhibitions were stopped at the outbreak of the First World War, when the spaces were used for soldier training, but resumed in 1922 until 1939.

But the building was again repurposed for the war effort. During the Second World War, it was used as a barrage balloon factory and testing facility.

After the conflict ended, Campfield reopened again for exhibitions, and was awarded listed building status in 1974, even though it was falling into disrepair.

Then disaster struck.

In 1977, a fire ripped through the Lower hall, causing extensive damage to the east end of the structure. It was so severe Manchester council considered demolition.

Instead, the cavernous hall was refurbished into a museum, with the Manchester Air & Space Museum moving in in 1983.

To mark the occasion, a post box outside was repainted blue in honour of the flying machines inside.

The organisation struggled for income and sponsorship though, so in 1985, the collection was subsumed by the Science and Industry Museum, where it wowed generations of Mancunians.

That was until 2021, when the building again needed renovation, leading to the Museum’s exit.

Allied London then began to redevelop it into offices for creative businesses and a cafe-bar — while also restoring its roof so the halls are flooded with light.

“It’s like being in a solarium. It makes you feel good being here,” explained Tanya Grady, from the developers.

She also revealed Campfield, after 150 years of uncertainty, changing uses, and near destruction, could go back to its original purpose: “We are going to do well-curated markets at weekends.

“It will be a bit more curated than a maker’s market. It could be a flower market or night market.”

You can find out more about the history of Lower Campfield Market by clicking here