A historical walking tour of Manchester's stone. how does urban stone make you feel? what does urban stone mean? come and find out.

The Stone Tour

Red sandstone is Manchester's native rock, but we've got buildings made from Portland Stone all the way from the South Coast- why? Come on this tour to have a think about how stone has shaped Manchester and how it affects us as we move around the city centre.

There'll be fossils, erosion, fancy stone for fancy buildings, deep time, and a chat about where stone even comes from in the first place.

We'll talk about the city as a palimpsest, how St Ann's church is "an assemblage of elsewheres", and how Manchester's building materials have come from further and further away.

We'll gaze at granite, spalling, a Medieval bridge and more. I'll even throw in some concrete for controversy.

And then there's the ultimate question: is stone as permanent as we think?

The Admin

We start in front of the Bridgewater Hall; we end in front of Manchester Cathedral. [Iconic]

Attendance free for kids under 12. [Educational]

We cover about 1 mile over 2 hours. [With stops along the way]

A walking tour with a difference- come and learn theories and fancy words. [Edifying]

The Guide

I am Dr. Charlotte Coull [history PhD from the University of Manchester] and I run a project called The Material City where I collect bits of the city in jars, sometimes update a website, and lead walking tours. My aim is to give you something different: a new way of looking at the city of Manchester that focuses on what it is made of. This is history with a material twist. I want to get you to think about what you otherwise don't notice, and my favourite thing is explaining the influence materials like stone, water, and air have over humans.

This is part environmental history, part heritage, part philosophy, and part art project. Join a tour- find out what materials mean.

Description supplied by the event organiser.