Plans were made to restore the historic shop underneath Manchester Piccadilly railway station in 2021 but the archway remains derelict
Archway underneath Manchester Piccadilly railway station on London Road in May 2025
A historic archway underneath Manchester Piccadilly railway station remains an abandoned eyesore, years after plans were put forward to bring it back to life.
The archway was a bustling tobacco and sweet shop in the 1950s. Before that, it operated as an antique store in the 1890s.
The shop, built into an archway below the Station Approach bridge to Piccadilly on London Road, has now been left derelict for decades. It was last used as a bookmakers but, its rusting roller-shutter security doors are now daubed in graffiti and a target for people fly posting.
Network Rail, who own the building, announced back in 2021 a £50,000 project to restore the shop’s façade, echoing the restoration of the front of the former shipping and goods office further down London Road in 2019.
The proposed restoration promised to remove redundant cabling and shutters, restore the shop’s worn masonry through a process of blasting and resealing, repair and reinstate the ornate timberwork, and install glazing.
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While it’s unclear exactly when the shop dates back to, Network Rail said back in 2021 that in the long term, they aimed to secure funding to refurbish the interior and find a new use or attract tenants for the unit.
London Road Station approach, Manchester, 1895(Image: @Manchester Libraries and Local Archives)
Four years later, there appears to have been no change and the restoration plans not carried out. However, Network Rail say they still have aspirations to bring the unique piece of railway heritage back into use.
The original permanent station in the vicinity was Store Street Station, constructed by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway in 1842.
It was situated more or less where the current station stands today.
Store Street was rebranded as Manchester London Road in 1847 and subsequently, under nationalised administration by British Railways in 1960, became Manchester Piccadilly.
Webb’s tobacco shop – Piccadilly, Manchester.
Date unknown.(Image: UGC/MEN)
The first operator was the Manchester and Birmingham Railway and the initial line extended only to Heaton Norris, Stockport.
Currently it’s estimated that over 30 million passengers travel through the station each year.
‘What a remarkable landmark it would be!’
Recently, a photo of the derelict archway was posted on the popular Manchester History Facebook group. People commented, sharing their memories and thoughts on what they think should happen with the space.
Plans were made to restore the archway back in 2021 but are yet to materialise(Image: UGC/MEN)
One person said: “I always wondered what that gaff was. They should fix it up and return it to how it should have been. Not a newsagent, as I’m sure it was something else originally, but at least make a coffee shop or something.”
Another said: “Always thought it would make a spectacular micropub.”
Another posted: “Easy to renovate at no great cost and what a remarkable landmark it would be!”
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We still have aspirations of bringing this unique railway heritage site back into use, however difficulties in finding a commercial tenant for the site has meant we have paused the renovation plans for now.
“We continue to work with our partners on how to breath new life back into our railway heritage assets in Central Manchester, and hope to take positive steps towards this in the future”
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