Victoria Arches - Wikipedia

The Cathedral Steps were wooden staircases that descended from street level on Victoria Street in Manchester, to landing stages built into the embankment of the River Irwell, and finally to floating moored platforms. The purpose of the steps was to allow fare-paying passengers access to Steam packet riverboats which provided tours of the River and also travel to other towns in the area, including Barton, Lymm, and Liverpool.^[1] The steps were so named due to their close proximity to Manchester Cathedral.

History

In the Victorian era passenger trips along the river Irwell were very popular. "Sailings to Pomona Gardens were very popular with courting couples, who liked to watch the Eel-catchers, admire views of Trafford Park Woodlands, and gaze at the peaceful farms and orchards. But the increasing smells from the river stopped it all".^[2] The Rivers Pollution Prevention Act 1876 was designed to solve this problem, but it was largely ineffective. It did however lay the groundwork for the more draconian legislation which followed.

Following the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894, in 1895 at least one flight of steps^[3]^[4] was opened by the Manchester Ship Canal Company, who actively encouraged passenger traffic. The company purchased several steamers, two of which are known to have used the landing stages, the Shandon and the Eagle.^[5] The boats could carry 900 and 1,100 passengers respectively. During the first half of 1897 more than 200,000 passengers were carried on trips around Manchester Docks with holiday seasons being the most popular periods.^[4] Competition for passengers was fierce and there were at least two staircases down to the river, operated by different companies. Ferries would occasionally carry musicians to entertain the passengers.^[6] The steps do not appear to have remained in business for long, suffering problems with flooding, and subsequently closing in 1906.^[1]

During the Second World War, the stages and the tunnels surrounding them were converted into air-raid shelters.^[7]^[8]^[9]

The steps and landing stages have been closed to the public for many years. In 1935 less elaborate steps were in place,^[10] and some of them remained until 1971.^[11] In photographs taken in 1972, the arches are seen to be barred, some covered with metal grilles.^[12] As of 2007, none of the steps remain, and the original Victorian railings along the embankment have been replaced with a stone wall and new railings.

The stages are visible from the three surrounding bridges, and the northwest shore of the river. The arches are now bricked up with small ventilation apertures left in place.

Tunnels

It is believed by some that the landing stages once provided access, via tunnels, to the Georgian streets which reportedly still exist below the modern city, streets that the Victorians covered with the present street level^[1]. There have also been persistent rumours of tunnels extending from the landing stages to various parts of the city^[13]. While photographs on the Manchester Council website do appear to show tunnels with cobbled foot surfaces, there is as yet no real evidence to suggest such a network beyond the scope of the original landing stages. The nearby tunnel at Walker's Croft apparently is used only for storage underneath Victoria station.

The cobbled surfaces shown in some of the pictures on the Manchester City Council website show the same network of tunnels, before their conversion to air raid shelters. Evidence of this can be found within the tunnels.^{[citation needed]}

The stages also connected with the public toilets that used to be in front of the Cathedral. While now disused and closed to the public Manchester Central Library maps demonstrate their proximity to the landing stages on the river, and both stage and toilets are accessible from one-another. Explorers have accessed the landing stages and documented their current condition, including taking photographs. The male toilets, previously accessible from the front of the Cathedral, are apparently situated within arch 9. The female toilets were in the next arch along^{[citation needed]}, although they have reportedly been removed in their entirety. Both toilets apparently had private offices at the western ends (closest to the river), against the embankment wall. The female toilets were accessed from a fenced pathway from street level. It was widely believed that access to these was secured by abseiling over the side of the bridge into an area of the landing stages under the bridge which had not been bricked up. However when access was also discovered through a street level manhole, Urban Explorers welded and padlocked the manhole themselves to restrict entry. This manhole can now be easily identified as it has a new looking padlock, and who's seen a padlock on a manhole before?

Evidence of the Thomas Cook building which once stood on the corner of Victoria Bridge was reportedly found inside one of the stages, in the form of fire damaged timber perlins - albeit in very poor condition.

It has been suggested that the landing stages might be reopened to the public as a tourist attraction^[1].

Gallery

The now disused and bricked up stages, as viewed from the west bank of the River Irwell
This shows the landing stages as seen from Victoria Bridge.
This shows the landing stages along the River Irwell, with Victoria Bridge in the foreground.
This is the now rebuilt wall and fence, where the Cathedral Steps once were
An image from 1904 that clearly shows the Thomas Cook building between Victoria Bridge and Cathedral Approach.