From London Road looking towards the derelict Hoyle’s Warehouse

“hosting the 1907 gathering that led to the creation of the Professional Footballers'​ Association (PFA)”

It’s a slightly quirky choice of location this week….

The top photo (as ever kindly provided by Steve Welsh) was taken in 1996 and is from London Road looking towards the derelict Hoyle’s Warehouse on the left and The Imperial Hotel on the right.

Euan moved to Manchester in 1995 but sadly has no recollection of this building whatsoever (does anyone else remember it?)

According to the records it was built in 1879 as a striking late-Victorian railway hotel. Its terracotta façade and bold “IMPERIAL” lettering were designed to impress arriving passengers, and it later became a lively pub and meeting place — even hosting the 1907 gathering that led to the creation of the Professional Footballers'​ Association (PFA). Next door was the much-loved Manchester Dolls Hospital, a quirky local institution that made the corner especially memorable.

The hotel and neighbouring buildings were demolished in 1997 during redevelopment, their site absorbed into the conversion of the former Hoyle’s Warehouse — built by merchant Joshua Hoyle — into the Malmaison Manchester, marking the shift from Victorian railway-era hospitality to modern city-centre regeneration.

For Euan the conversion of the Hoyle’s Warehouse is still one of my favourites in Manchester. He remembers taking photos of it being renovated in 1997 and it captured such an exciting time post 1996 IRA bomb when the city’s regeneration was really starting to gather pace.