Manchester’s Hotspur Press building was at the centre of a huge fire on Monday night
22:12, 23 Jun 2025Updated 22:42, 23 Jun 2025
The shell of the former Hotspur Press mill which was ravaged by the fire (Image: Jack Fifield )
On Monday afternoon, one of the oldest mills in Manchester city centre stood derelict and unkept like it has done for decades.
By the evening, much of it had crumbled to the ground.
There was merely a scorched shell of the Hotspur Press building left, after it was violently torn through by a devastating blaze.
Thick plumes of smoke were sent into the air as the fire also caused a huge evacuation of nearby homes and the Oxford Road train station.
There was panic and chaos in the city centre, as surrounding roads were taped off and a dramatic emergency services response raced to the scene to try and bring the disastrous inferno under control.
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Streets filled with smoke as emergency crews handed out masks and urged people to avoid the area. Those living nearby were told to keep windows closed and there were fears of potential asbestos in the mill further causing alarm.
Images from the scene showed flames erupting from the top floor of the building, while others showed that the fire appeared to have completely gutted the interior. One picture from a passing plane revealed how the smoke was clearly visible in the sky over the city.
And flames creeped up the building and sent smoke covering nearby Oxford Road station, just yards away, causing the area to be evacuated and trains to be halted.
The entire building erupted into flames(Image: abluelanda)
Residents living nearby in two apartment blocks were also evacuated for their safety, with dozens having to either stay in hotels or with family and friends overnight.
Some told the M.E.N of how they packed their bags in a panic after seeing the smoke. Others described ‘ash falling from the sky’ and said the fire appeared to be ‘scary and out of control’.
One doorman at one of the evacuated buildings asked not to be named. He told of the moment fire crews stormed the complex and urged everyone to immediately evacuate.
“I could smell smoke so I went outside and saw that the entirety of the building was on fire,” he said. “It was only small at first. Instantly the fire brigade turned up and started aiming their jets at it.
Smoke billowed overhead and covered parts of the city centre(Image: Benjamin Summers)
“They rushed inside the building to see if there was anyone in there but it has been derelict for ten years. It did have a sign up on the wall saying ‘do not enter’ because the floors are so unsafe.
“More and more firefighters came into our building and told us to shut our windows. Then one of them went upstairs and came back down screaming ‘you need to evacuate the entire building’. About fifty firemen went up knocking on every single door.
The black smoke could be seen for miles on Monday evening(Image: Izzy Forbes)
“I’m not going to lie, I absolutely sh** my pants. There was smoke billowing everywhere and the fire was just raging and raging.
“I don’t even know what to say – it was wild. It just went f***ing mental. There was bits of coal landing on me and burning on me.”
It’s understood the last train to go through Oxford Road station was a 4.50pm service to Barrow. Seven minutes later, when the next service arrived, one staff member told the M.E.N. how the driver refused to keep the service running and an evacuation was ordered, with cinders ‘landing on the track’.
Emergency services evacuated the area and put cordons in place(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
The floor around the mill was covered in soot and ash. Smoke continued to smoulder and hang in the nearby city streets even after most of the blaze was dampened.
The latest statement from the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service read: “Crews are working hard to tackle the fire at the Hotspur Press building. 20 fire engines from stations across Greater Manchester are at the scene, where three floors of the building are alight.
“Multiple jets and the air unit are in use to prevent the spread of the fire. All floors of the two apartment blocks at 1 Cambridge Street have been evacuated.”
Fire service crews at the scene of the dramatic blaze(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
Council leader Bev Craig said: “We’ve been working closely with emergency response colleagues this evening following the major fire incident at the Hotspur Press building. Evacuated residents are now being supported at a nearby rest centre.
“A cordon remains around Cambridge Street along with local road closures, and we thank people for taking fire service advice to avoid the area while crews continue to work at the site. Those living nearby should also continue to keep windows and doors shut to avoid smoke.
“A final thank you to the city’s emergency personnel for their ongoing efforts tonight, acting quickly to keep the fire under control and keeping our residents safe.”
No details have yet been confirmed on whether there were any reported injuries sustained as a result of the fire or its cause. An investigation will now take place.
One of Manchester’s most historic buildings now gone
The inferno marked more than just a devastating blaze. With only the shell of the mill left, which will now likely need to be demolished, it also represents the demise of a building which has for hundreds of years stood in the city centre – taking its colourful history down with it.
The Hotspur Press has a history rooted in both the industrial and printing eras. Originally built as Medlock Mill, a cotton mill, in around 1801, it is thought to be Manchester’s oldest mill.
The Hotspur Press building in Manchester was built in the early 1800s
It was later repurposed as a printing works by the Percy Brothers in the late 1800s, which produced various comics and journals, but failed to be redeveloped and modernised like its counterparts.
After ceasing printing operations in the 1990s, the building fell into disrepair and remains empty and derelict. In the shadow of modern developments nearby, it stood unkept and unloved.
There were plans to transform the site
A redevelopment plan was then unveiled. Initial plans to convert it into a 171-home, 28-storey apartment block fell through in 2020, with a new firm, Manner, taking the historic structure on.
Their plans to build a 36-storey student tower and keep the original façade was given planning permission in May 2024 — but a year on, work hadn’t started.
Author and former M.E.N. journalist Jonathan Schofield, who also hosts historical walking tours around the city, shed some light on the history of the iconic mill. Just hours earlier on Monday (June 23), he had taken a group on a tour past the 1800s building before it then burnt to the ground in ‘astonishing’ scenes.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined(Image: Jonathan Boswell)
“It was certainly an early spinning shed like all the big ones in Ancoats, and was part of a complex of mills,” he said.
“It was interesting because in its survival, it didn’t carry on just in the spinning trade, but it later converted into Percy Brothers, which would print anything you wanted, from brochures, to books and magazines.
“I feel that they didn’t have enough money to modernise it, and it stayed as a very old spinning factory and was a ‘beginning of the industrial revolution’ building, so it was very interesting for that.
“There have been big arguments over why it was never protected and grade II listed because it’s so old. There were then proposals for flats which were controversial, but unfortunately it has just exploded now.
The building erupted into a violent inferno(Image: Matt Edwards)
“There is so much history. You’ve got to think, back in the early days there were children of 11 underneath spinning machines, collecting the waste. The noise would have been intense. It has seen generations of people walk through those doors.
“In effect, it was a hellhole for a while, but it’s like a good old pub that has become a staple in local history. There is context there to the history of the city, which has now all gone up in flames.
“My friend who is French, when they visited, said ‘I love your city because it’s such a mess.’ But really, that is a compliment. There are 1930’s buildings down Whitworth Street and in the city centre, then flats, modern towers, and then you get this weird declining beauty of the Hotspur Press building which is still such a big part of it all.
“That’s why Manchester’s architecture is so joyous. To lose something like this makes that part of the city now less interesting.
Fire crews spent hours tackling the blaze(Image: Matt Edwards)
“I did a tour earlier in the day and we walked past Hotspur Press, and I explained how it was one of the biggest debates of the city at the moment with the plans. Then three hours later, it’s all burning down. I couldn’t believe it.
“It was a total inferno. The roof plays just as much a part of the building as the walls, all holding the building up, and the beams were falling one by one, and then the walls. It was astonishing.”
The shell of the former Hotspur Press mill which was ravaged by the fire (Image: Jonathan Boswell)
Following the fire, the UK Health Security Agency issued guidance for people to remain out of the smoke, which can irritate people’s eyes and throats. This can also be worsened by chemicals and substances released due to the fires and cause respiratory issues including coughing, wheezing and breathlessness. Anyone with concerns about the impact of smoke on their health is urged to contact the NHS 111 service.