A Building with an Identity Crisis
Today this is the Stables Tavern in Castlefield - its name a nod to the building’s earlier life as stables serving the nearby railway and warehouse district.
But this is one of those Manchester buildings that has lived several lives.
In 1969, the space took on a very different role when it became the Stables Theatre Company, an experimental theatre and bar founded by Gordon McDougall with support from Granada Television. It was part theatre, part social space, and part Granada experiment, a place where stage and screen briefly overlapped. The Stables Theatre Company was active around 1969–70, producing work for both live performance and television.
Then, in the 1990s, the building changed again. As part of the Granada Studios Tour, it was transformed into a version of the Rovers Return Inn for visitors exploring the Coronation Street experience. The Granada Studios Tour itself ran from 1988 until 1999, bringing millions of visitors into this part of the city.
It wasn’t the real exterior from the soap - fans would probably spot the difference straight away - but inside, visitors could step into a pub recreated to feel like the famous one from Weatherfield.
So, depending on when you knew it, this building might have been stables, a theatre club, a television-themed attraction, or simply a very good pub.
That’s what I like about it. It isn’t just a surviving old building. It’s a reminder of how Castlefield itself has kept changing, from canals and railways, to warehouses and studios, to bars, flats, offices and visitor attractions.
Today the cameras are gone, but the building, and its story, remain.
Plus, it’s a great pub… well worth stopping by for a pint and one of their pies.
