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The Printworks (Manchester)

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Coordinates: 53°29′07″N 2°14′29″W / 53.48528°N 2.24139°W / 53.48528; -2.24139
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For the defunct nightclub in London, England, see Printworks (London).

Façade of the Printworks, Manchester (right)
Interior of the Printworks, Manchester showing the "Digital Ceiling"
Interior detail of the Printworks, Manchester (Pre digital screen)

Printworks is an urban entertainment complex on the corner of Withy Grove and Corporation Street in Manchester city centre, UK. It sits in close proximity to Exchange Square, Manchester Arndale and Manchester Victoria railway station.

It currently contains a large cinema, bars, restaurants and nightclubs — alongside a bowling alley, arcade, mini golf and a health centre.[1]

Current Occupants

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As of July 2025 the occupants of Printworks are as follows:[2]

Entertainment and Health

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Food and Drink

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Original Print Works

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The existing Printworks entertainment venue is located on the revamped Withy Grove site of the business premises of the 19th-century newspaper proprietor Edward Hulton, established in 1873 and later expanded.[3][4][5][6] Hulton's son Sir Edward Hulton expanded his father's newspaper interests and sold his publishing business based in London and Manchester to Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Rothermere when he retired in 1923. Most of the Hulton newspapers were sold again soon afterwards to the Allied Newspapers consortium formed in 1924 (renamed Kemsley Newspapers in 1943 and bought by Roy Thomson in 1959).[7][8][9][10]

Earlier names of the buildings associated with publishing that were incorporated into the development include Withy Grove Printing House,[11] the Chronicle Buildings,[12][13][14] Allied House, Kemsley House, Thomson House and Maxwell House.[15][16] Kemsley House on the corner of Withy Grove and Corporation Street was developed gradually from 1929 and became the largest newspaper printing house in Europe.[6][17][18][19] The site housed a printing press until 1988.[13] Robert Maxwell bought the property and subsequently closed it down.[20] The building was left unused for over a decade and fell derelict.

Redevelopment

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The property was subsequently redeveloped and reopened as a leisure centre as part of the redevelopment of Manchester following the 1996 IRA bombing.[21][22]

We placed a very strong emphasis on developing cultural and entertainment opportunities to broaden the interest and attraction of the city centre. We saw the Shudehill site as a prime location for a large regional leisure and entertainment facility. It will add massively to the diversity of the area, its attractiveness as a place to visit and will enhance its competitive edge.

— Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council[23]

In 1998, the derelict building and surrounding site were bought for £10 million by Shudehill Developments, a joint venture by Co-operative Wholesale Society and Co-operative Insurance Society which owned buildings and land adjacent to the building.[12][23] The building was renamed Printworks reflecting its past history and underwent a £110 million conversion to transform the property into an entertainment venue.[23] The frontage Pevsner describes as a "weakly Baroque Portland stone façade" was retained,[6][17][23] and part of an internal railway from the newspaper business and its turntable for transporting newspapers was incorporated into the new floor.[6]

In 2000, Printworks was opened by Sir Alex Ferguson and Lionel Richie as the venue for a variety of clubs, leisure facilities and eateries.[24][25]

In 2024 The Printworks underwent a £27m improvement project, with the roof of the enclosed "street" replaced with a 1,000 sqm. "Digital Ceiling" The original exterior Portland stone facade on Corporation Street and Withy Grove was also heavily remodelled, with signage now consisting primarily of LED screens located above the roof-line. [26]

Vue Cinema & IMAX

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The Printworks is home to a twenty-screen cinema complex set over three storeys, currently operated by Vue since 2017.[27] The complex, originally operated by UCI, followed by Odeon, was fitted with an IMAX screen in 2001. The screen measures 26.3m x 18.8m with a 1.43:1 aspect ratio, making it the 2nd largest in the UK. [28] It was one of 30 screens worldwide to show Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" on 70mm film. [29][1]

In 2018 the screen was upgraded to support laser projection whilst retaining its ability to screen 70mm film. [30] During this refurbishment all other 19 screens had seating replaced with recliners, with IMAX (Screen 1) seating replaced with semi-recliners reducing the number of seats to 345. [31]

Tenpin & Treetop Golf

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In 2018 "Treetop Golf" opened on the first floor of Printworks with its entrance located to the rear of the complex on Dantzic Street. It consists of two 18-hole mini golf courses themed to the amazon rainforest alongside a cafe and bar.[2]

In 2020 a Tenpin bowling alley and arcade opened in the basement of the complex, with its entrance located on the corner of Dantzic Street and Balloon Street. It contains 12 bowling lanes, an arcade, a karaoke parlour and other games such as pool, shuffleboard and beer pong. Also included are two bars and an American-style diner. [3]

Ownership

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The property was sold to Resolution Property for £100 million in 2008,[11][21] and was sold again to Land Securities for £93.9 million in 2012.[32] In 2017 DZT Investors aquired the property. [33]

References

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Footnotes
  1. ^ "Who's here". Printworks Manchester. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  2. ^ "Who's here". Printworks Manchester. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  3. ^ Powell, Michael; Wyke, Terry; Beetham, Margaret Rachel (2009). "Manchester Press". In Brake, Laurel; Demoor, Marysa (eds.). Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism in Great Britain and Ireland. Gent: Academia Press. p. 395. ISBN 9789038213408. In 1871 Ned Hulton began to publish the Sporting Chronicle, the first of a huge empire which he established in Manchester, which included the Sunday Chronicle, the Daily Dispatch and Athletic News. Hulton's new premises in Withy Grove in the heart of the city became the biggest printing house in Europe.
  4. ^ Jameson, Derek (June 2008). "Book Review: Skiddy row: Forgive Us Our Press Passes, by Ian Skidmore". British Journalism Review. 19 (2): 87–88. doi:10.1177/09564748080190021304. S2CID 145667249. Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2013. At the heart of this other Fleet Street was Withy Grove, Europe's biggest print centre, owned in turn by the Hulton, Kemsley and Thomson dynasties. In its day this Victorian mausoleum turned out no fewer than ten national titles ... Sporting Chronicle, Sunday Chronicle, Daily Dispatch, Daily Sketch, Empire News, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times, Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror (previously Pictorial) and News of the World ... Withy Grove dated from 1873
  5. ^ Heys, Harold (4 February 2011). "End of life for the Chron". Gentlemen Ranters. Retrieved 28 August 2013. Withy Grove had a succession of owners, from founder Ned Hulton, to his son Sir Edward Hulton, briefly to the Daily Mail Trust and then to Lord Camrose and Viscount Kemsley as Allied Newspapers which became Kemsley Newspapers in 1945. Roy, later Lord, Thomson took over in 1959 and eventually Cap'n Bob took charge ... Withy Grove was eventually sold and revamped and is now the Printworks, a £150 million entertainment, restaurant and leisure complex.
  6. ^ a b c d Boardman, David. "Printworks". Our Manchester. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  7. ^ Tate, Steve (2009). "Hulton, Edward (1838–1904)". In Brake, Laurel; Demoor, Marysa (eds.). Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism in Great Britain and Ireland. Gent: Academia Press. p. 296. ISBN 9789038213408.
  8. ^ Porter, Dilwyn (2004). "Hulton, Sir Edward, baronet (1869–1925), newspaper proprietor". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34048. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 22 August 2013. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  9. ^ Smith, Adrian (2004). "Berry, William Ewert, first Viscount Camrose (1879–1954), newspaper proprietor". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30733. Retrieved 5 September 2013. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  10. ^ Smith, Adrian (2004). "Berry, (James) Gomer, first Viscount Kemsley (1883–1968), newspaper proprietor". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30731. Retrieved 5 September 2013. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  11. ^ a b Jefford, Kasmira (5 November 2012). "Land Securities to pay £95m for Manchester Printworks complex". City A.M. Retrieved 31 August 2013. Printworks was originally erected as Withy Grove Printing House in 1873.
  12. ^ a b Boardman, David. "CWS Offices on Balloon Street and Garden Street". Our Manchester. Retrieved 3 September 2013. This web page includes various historical maps of the block enclosed by Withy Grove, Dantzig, Balloon and Corporation Streets where the Printworks is now situated, showing the various buildings which were previously situated there.
  13. ^ a b "Chance find revives print glory days". Manchester Evening News. 10 August 2004. Retrieved 31 August 2013. The find has sparked a history trail leading to previously unseen documents and photographs of what used to be known as the Chronicle Buildings – once home to 4,000 print-workers, 10 million newspapers a week, and national titles such as The Daily Mirror and the Daily Telegraph.
  14. ^ Reece, Peter (15 February 2008). "Treading on big toes". Gentlemen Ranters. Retrieved 4 September 2013. What the 'alleged' opposition did not know, was office space in Thomson House and its adjoining Chronicle Buildings was actually the cheapest in town.
  15. ^ "Bill Hodgkinson dies aged 96 after rising from copy-boy to News of the World sub at Withy Grove". Press Gazette. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2013. At one time Withy Grove was the biggest printing centre in Europe and was variously known as Allied House, Kemsley House, Thomson House and Maxwell House before becoming The Print Works, an entertainment centre.
  16. ^ "Reunion for headline pals". Manchester Evening News. 10 August 2004. Retrieved 4 September 2013. The reunion will include a tour of The Printworks complex, which went through a number of different identities from Edward Hulton's, to Allied Newspapers, Kemsley House, Thomson House, then Maxwell House.
  17. ^ a b Worthington, Barry; Beech, Graham (2002). Discovering Manchester: A Walking Guide to Manchester and Salford. Wilmslow: Sigma Leisure. p. 30. ISBN 9781850587743.
  18. ^ Boardman, David. "Arthur Rangely – Kemsley House, Withy Grove, now Printworks – 1929". Our Manchester. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  19. ^ "Printing". Museum of Science and Industry. Retrieved 11 November 2012. Built in 1929, Kemsley House was the largest newspaper printing house in Europe, turning out 11 million copies a week.
  20. ^ "Manchester in the Days of Newspapers". New Manchester Walks. Retrieved 11 November 2012. Maxwell, a boor and a bully, bought the former Kemsley House plant on Withy Grove (once the largest newspaper plant in Europe; now the Printworks entertainments centre) for a £1, simply to close it down.
  21. ^ a b "Printworks-owner Resolution Property 'close' to offloading leisure complex to Land Securities in £100m deal". Manchester Evening News. 5 November 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  22. ^ "Oscar Winning Washrooms from TBS Fabrications" (Press release). TBS Fabrications. Archived from the original on 8 September 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2013. The Printworks, designed by leading architects RTKL-UK Ltd, is an impressive host to leading leisure venues such as Boom Battle Bar and Treetop Adventure Golf. In addition, Vue Cinema offers a 20-screen complex featuring the latest cinema technology, including the first IMAX auditorium in North West England.
  23. ^ a b c d Parkinson-Bailey (2000). Manchester: An architectural history. Manchester University Press. p. 263. ISBN 9780719056062.
  24. ^ "What's Cooking at the Printworks (May 2003)". Sugarvine. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  25. ^ "The Printworks Manchester". Manchester Restaurants. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  26. ^ Davies, Ethan (23 February 2024). "Printworks to 'relaunch' after major £27m upgrade". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  27. ^ Bainbridge, Pete (12 May 2017). "Vue announce opening date for Printworks cinema". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  28. ^ "Theaters – LF Examiner". lfexaminer.com. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  29. ^ YMCinema (5 June 2023). "Oppenheimer: IMAX 70mm Screening at Only 30 Theaters Worldwide". Y.M.Cinema Magazine. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  30. ^ Gill, Emma (12 October 2018). "This is how many people it takes to deliver an IMAX screen to The Printworks". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  31. ^ "Hire IMAX Screen, Vue Cinema Manchester - Printworks • HeadBox". www.headbox.com. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  32. ^ "Manchester's Printworks sold for £93.9m". Newsco Insider Limited. 5 November 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  33. ^ "Landmark city centre leisure destination acquired in Manchester". DTZ Investors. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
Bibliography
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53°29′07″N 2°14′29″W / 53.48528°N 2.24139°W / 53.48528; -2.24139

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