Northern Soul’s editor, Helen Nugent, and Head Photographer, Chris Payne, take a behind the scenes tour of Manchester Town Hall. Recently, a set of architectural drawings by Alfred Waterhouse have been rediscovered and authenticated by an expert working on a project to safeguard the heritage of the iconic building.

Found in the Town Hall’s basement by Kirsten McKnight, of Stephen Levrant Heritage Architecture -who has been assessing and cataloguing the building’s contents as part of her work on the Heritage Management Plan, the drawings hail from the 1860s to 1880s and depict the celebrated architect’s plans for the Town Hall as built, in great detail.

The Plan is in place to ensure that the building’s many heritage features are protected during the ongoing Our Town Hall transformation project. The drawings reveal the massive transformation that building the Town Hall made to the area in the 1870, and are among the many finds planned to be exhibited to the public.

From sweeping stone staircases, to black and white snaps of the Lord Mayor’s office, to the famous bee mosaic, these images are truly stunning.