My Manchester venue - Cross Street Chapel
Central Manchester, only 15 minutes walk from Piccadilly Train Station
The first thing to know about Cross Street Chapel is that it doesn't look like a chapel as you can see in the picture above. The current building is the first two floors of a modern office block, about halfway along Cross Street between Market Street and Albert Square, almost opposite St Ann's Street. Chapel Walks, a pedestrian way, runs alongside it. Look out for my poster “Public Speaking Courses” on the door. It's a calm, unhurried space, and it suits the course well.
Cross Street Chapel has been a place of independent thinking since 1694. It was the original Dissenters' Meeting House - one of the oldest non-conformist buildings in the country. Its members were active in the aftermath of Peterloo. They defended the reformers, and one of the congregation - John Edward Taylor - founded the Manchester Guardian in 1821 in direct response to it. For much of the 18th and 19th century this building was quietly on the right side of history. Its motto is Individual Belief, Shared Community.
I love that connection with The Guardian! I was the founding editor of The Spark, an independent magazine in Bristol that ran for 25 years. I'm not claiming it was anything like the Manchester Guardian - but I love that tiny echo.
When the Metrolink line was built along Cross Street, the construction work uncovered the old chapel graveyard - over 270 burials dating back to 1694. The remains were carefully excavated and reburied.
A note about the chapel
If you're wondering what it means to spend two days in a chapel, this is what Cross Street says about itself: "Unitarians are non-credal, and there is a wide diversity of belief at Cross Street. Some believe in God, some don't. Some believe in life after death, some don't. It doesn't matter. We are bound together by love and respect, not a shared creed."
My own work is not based on any religion - but on respect, care, and the belief that people can change. The space reflects that.
The room
On day one we meet in the chapel itself - a circular room. It's a beautiful space and it works well for the course.
Getting there
By train
Manchester Piccadilly is about 15 minutes walk. Manchester Victoria is about 10 minutes.
By tram
The nearest Metrolink stops are St Peter's Square (walk through to Albert Square and along Cross Street) or Market Street (walk towards Marks & Spencer, then left into Cross Street).
By car
Several car parks within half a mile, but parking in central Manchester is very very expensive - people have paid £45. Worth considering parking on the outskirts and coming in by tram.
Manchester information
There is a useful journey planner for Greater Manchester at http://www.tfgm.com
Cross Street Chapel, Cross Street, Manchester M2 1NL
Google Map link
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7Bhk2isPUBmcwGZHA
Hotel
I usually stay at Motel One Manchester Royal Exchange. It's the shortest walk from hotel to venue I have anywhere. I can leave at 8am and be there at 8am. But be careful as Motel one has other hotels in the city and I have booked the wrong one twice!
If you arrive before 8:30am
There is a Pret a Manger opposite the venue.
Lunch
Sainsbury's, Pret, and Greggs are all a short hop. Marks and Spencers just a bit further. Plenty of other cafes and restaurants nearby if you want to explore. We often share lunch together but you are free to do whatever you want.
The area
Albert Square is at the end of Cross Street. The Town Hall there has stood in for the Houses of Parliament so many times in films and TV that you may well recognise it - Sherlock Holmes, The Iron Lady, and plenty more. The real Parliament apparently doesn't let film crews in. Manchester just gets on with it.
Cross Street has somehow become Manchester's chocolate quarter. Knoops at number 68 does hot chocolate in over twenty varieties. Hotel Chocolat at number 1 has a two-floor café with molten chocolate on tap. If you're arriving the evening before, there are worse ways to spend an hour.
Almost opposite the chapel is one of only two Patagonia shops in Britain. If you're a walker, you can go in and marvel at the equipment, their sustainability wizardry and their prices. Every three years or so you might save up enough to buy a jacket.I have a deep winter one to keep me toasty warm for my winter journeys.
If you have a few minutes, take a short walk down Back Pool Fold, the alley just off Cross Street. There's a blue plaque on the wall commemorating the Women of Back Pool Fold - women who, in medieval times, held opinions that rocked the patriarchal boat and were accused of witchcraft for it. Put there in 2022. Worth a minute of your time. It's a narrow alley so you have to be slightly brave - but don't let that put you off.
The Royal Exchange Theatre is almost opposite Even if you're not seeing a show, if you get the chance to step inside and look at the structure, do it. It's one of the most remarkable theatre spaces in the country. My wife used to be an usher there when she was a student, and she turned down a date with Hugh Grant!