> Manchester Town Hall Shelter 📍

Manchester Town Hall served as a command post for defences during the Second World War, so it’s no surprise it has a reinforced air raid shelter in its basement. These days the space is used mainly for storage, but the Manchester Evening News has some good photos of the rarely seen basement and some other interesting private spots within the building.

Behind a small door still bearing a slightly eerie sign reading ‘CONTROL. No admittance except for control staffs’ – a sign pre-dating any current staff – is an extensive network of cellar rooms that in the 1940s were reinforced with corrugated metal ceilings and extra internal walls.

It doesn’t feature on tours, but at one time hundreds of council staff and politicians would have hidden there in fear of their lives.

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