Bombed & Besieged: Manchester at War
£20
10.30am Saturday 13 December 2025, Saturday 12 December 2026
From the Romans to 22 May 2017, via the English Civil War, the Bonnie Prince Charlie rebellion, World War I, the arrival of Guernica for a week, World War II, the IRA and Islamicist attacks, Manchester has seen a great deal of belligerent attention. There have been conflicts and trouble between all these events too.
This tour is a tale of drama, peril, bravery and ultimately hope. It looks at the principal players and also some of the lesser known characters. Cruel execution is a theme, when some Mancunians suffered the most terrible of fates for foolishly backing the wrong man in 1745. There is humour and light in the dark, plus poetry and song, and great art with the story of how the most famous anti-war painting on the planet arrived in Manchester in 1939.
Meeting point: outside Hanging Ditch wine merchants, at the junction of Cateaton Street and Victoria Street, M3 1ST.
Tickets:
£20 adults
Under 12s free
Duration: most tours last between ninety minutes and two hours
Fully accessible
Totally fascinating
This tour is a tale of drama, peril, bravery and ultimately hope. It looks at the principal players and also some of the lesser known characters. Cruel execution is a theme, when some Mancunians suffered the most terrible of fates for foolishly backing the wrong man in 1745. There is humour and light in the dark, plus poetry and song, and great art with the story of how the most famous anti-war painting on the planet arrived in Manchester in 1939.
Meeting point: outside Hanging Ditch wine merchants, at the junction of Cateaton Street and Victoria Street, M3 1ST.
Tickets:
£20 adults
Under 12s free
Duration: most tours last between ninety minutes and two hours
Fully accessible
Totally fascinating