From the Bridgewater Canal in Castlefield looking east towards Lock Keepers Cottage and Merchants Warehouse

“It’s great when you manage to get the photos matching up seamlessly”

This week’s view is from the Bridgewater Canal in Castlefield looking east towards Lock Keepers Cottage and Merchants Warehouse (It’s great when you manage to get the photos matching up seamlessly 😊)

As always, huge thanks to Steve Welsh for generously sharing the top photo which is from 1994.

The bottom photo is from February 2026 and captures some of the major change in Castlefield over the past thirty years or so, and some of the more recent change in the background 🏗️

From left to right (all designed by SimpsonHaugh unless stated otherwise):

Beetham Tower and The Manchester Deansgate Hotel, by IHG; Viadux, by Salboy; Hampton by Hilton Manchester City Centre; Merchants Bridge, designed by Whitley Bird & Partners (now Ramboll); Slate Wharf, designed by ADC Architects and developed by Macbryde Homes; Castle Wharf, designed by OMI Architects and delivered by RENAKER; Fusion Deansgate, designed by Corstorphine & Wright; and, Deansgate Square, by RENAKER.