A landmark of glass and iron
Since 1871
More than 150 years on Deansgate
Few buildings capture Victorian Manchester’s ambition like Barton Arcade. Hidden behind an unassuming Deansgate frontage, it opens into a cathedral of light — tiers of ornate galleries climbing to a vaulted glass roof.
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1871
A grand design
Barton Arcade is built to designs by Corbett, Raby & Sawyer — a dazzling structure of cast iron and glass inspired by the great arcades of Milan and Paris.
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Victorian era
Manchester’s finest
Four storeys of galleried shopfronts beneath a barrel-vaulted glass roof make it one of the most ambitious shopping arcades in the country.
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Grade II*
Nationally protected
Recognised as a building of more than special interest, its ironwork and domes are among the best-preserved of their kind in Britain.
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Today
Carefully restored
Sensitive restoration has returned the arcade’s detail and light — a living landmark, ready for a new generation of independents.
The restoration
Brought back to life
Restoring a building of this age is painstaking work — repairing ironwork, re-glazing the canopy and reviving original detail while readying the units for modern occupiers. The result honours the arcade’s past while making it fit for its next chapter.
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