History
Since the Mitre Hotel was built in 1815 it has witnessed
many events in this, the oldest area of Manchester.
 The
name of the Hotel has an obvious connection with the Cathedral
and its original name of the "Old Church Tavern"
is also indicative of this.
Further connected with the Cathedral and the Hotel is
the probable existence of a secret tunnel between the
church and a small underground chapel near to St. Anne's
Square, part of this tunnel was under the Mitre Hotel.
The fortunes of war are associated with this location
with two memorable events. The first of these occurred
on the 29th November 1745 when Prince Charles Edward Stuart
accompanied by several thousand tartan-clad and bagpipe-clutching
soldiers invaded Manchester. The Prince reviewed his ill-fated
troops directly on the side of the Mitre Hotel.
The second invasion Manchester had to face was on the
night of 23rd December 1940, when an air raid destroyed
part of the Cathedral and almost all of the old Market
Place. The Mitre Hotel, which lies between these locations,
only suffered shattered windows and a few displaced roof-slates.
In 1996, The Mitre Hotel was partly damaged by the IRA
bomb, which destroyed the main shopping area, where now
Selfridges and Harvey Nicholls stores have been constructed
as part of a rejuvenation plan for this part of Manchester
and the Hotel underwent major reconstruction.
Former proprietors of the Hotel have included an ex-acrobat
in the person of John Whitehead in 1817 and it is recorded
that given an encouraging audience and sufficient refreshment,
he would attempt to demonstrate his precarious skills
in the bar. It would be as well if you did not ask the
present proprietor to re-live history |
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