The Secret History of Manchester Town Hall 

I wish some one was as dedicated about creating content like this about my own city. Since finding Martins channel I have come to realise new found respect of Manchester and it's history.

I've never known twenty-one minutes to pass so quickly, nor have I said f**kin' hell so often in such a short space of time. Absolutely rivetting video. Massive thanks for bringing us along...

A Martin Zero vid? My evening just got better.

My Nan always called tap water “corporation pop”... now I know why 😂

That was amazing Martin. A Mancunian Cultural overload! What a beautiful building. Looking forward to seeing more of the Great Hall and Ford Madox Brown. I love the antique plan chests. You picked up on such detail that could so easily have been missed. Thanks so much for sharing. Just what you need for a peaceful sunday evening. ❤💛💚

Some things make Sundays great. Family time, no post, and Martin Zero. Always something to look forward to. Thanks Martin!

you have shown me more of Manchester than iv ever seen and I used to live there for 45 years

What an incredible building! I could almost smell the aged wood, dust and stonework! Honestly, when compared to the monstrosities that are thrown up these days, with an expected life of maybe 50 years ...this is just staggering to behold! It wasn't just 'constructed' it was 'crafted'. It's a masterpiece!

Fantastic video Martin. What an amazing building. Victorians built some fantastic buildings in Manchester. 🙂🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

How amazing was that video everyone? I'm blown away that I got to see parts of the TH I've never seen or hoped to see. The details in that inner courtyard alone with what looked like little balconies at the corner was just fantastic Martin. So looking forward to the rest of this series.

Forget New York. Manchester was the biggest and the most powerful city in the world from the early 1700s and on up until the first world war. Its town hall reflects all that history and Martin's video shows the pride of place the people of Manchester still have today. Excellent job Martin

What an amazing building! Love seeing all the gas pipes and hydraulic systems, it's like peeling back the years of development over the lifetime of the building. Also; hydraulic power - did you know that Hull had the world's first municipal hydraulic power company? That blew my mind when I found that out!

Amazing video Martin, very informative, thank you ☺️

Very Awesome, Thanks for the Videos Martin

All i can say is massive Thanks to the guys and company inviting you to share this with us all and posting it Martin. cheers ken

Thanks to you, I know more about Manchester than I do about my own City of Portland Maine!! Great stuff man, looking forward to the rest of the series!

@ 13:53 I used to work in this area, this room. The shelves you can see contained the rolled up plans for Manchester's Sewers

Hi Martin, brilliant video once again, I absolutely love stuff like this, that is such a beautiful building, both inside & out, that system for moving coal around the building is amazing, whenever the Victorians came up against a problem they always found a solution. It's great that the council are preserving the building & fittings, for future generations to enjoy. Looking forward to the next installment, thanks for showing us around those unseen areas! 👍

Excellent vid Martin. Steam Roller ! they where long gone before I was born back in 1948, but Steam Roller is what I have called them all my life. Nearly crashed one in my youth, long story but thanks for the memories. John

Awesome. Infinite gratitude for this one. My Great Grandparental connection with 19th century Manchester is all the stronger for seeing the underbelly and history of the city as you show it. Thanks for confronting your inner devils and showing us the clock face from the balcony.

I genuinely can't tell you how excited i get when i see a new MZ video is available

I am currently working on this magnificent Building and it a great honour to be doing so

Spot on Martin, more wandering up old wooden stairs. I can imagine the community that worked there and the class system they all lived under. Big town halls like Manchester and Rochdale employed hundreds of workers, and all had the same feeling inside, and that was of money and skills. Right from the boys grading the sands for the mortars to the architect and the tool sharpener. An extraordinary amount of skills that were mainly taught in house. Councils trained the craftspeople it needed to maintain it's assets and its people, so it trained nurses, midwives and Undertakers and the grave digger. Then the Suez crisis popped up, petrol was rationed, and UK politicians suddenly realised they were no longer in charge. The USA told us off for not asking permission to attack Egypt. It kick started a decline which led to Heath committing treason and signing us into the EEC, having long given up on the UK, knowing full well down the road it meant a total handover of the UK. Lock Stock and empty barrel. The demolition of these communities along with the general community and the Fortress we used to call the family was planned. Without rock steady communities and families there is no rock steady country. An ideal scenario for a handover to a foreign power, without a whimper being heard. We can now read their collusion on how best to deceive the population about questions around Sovereignty. The men who built these buildings would rage at their deception. Now we hear of Mayors having more powers, could this building be his new house when its renovated I wonder.

Amazing finds what a building

The sound of that spiral staircase is terrifying - I’d be scared of putting my foot through a tread! And the view from that ledge is incredible - the symmetry of the building is awesome. Great vid!

I used to work in the Town Hall back in 2006. It was only a short temping job for 3 months, just after I finished Uni, but it was great to walk around that great building looking at all the architecture and the pride that builders put into work back then. I remember it fondly.

That was brilliant Martin. 😃 Your face on the ledge was priceless!!! 😂😂😂😂😂

Nice one Martin.............. wine in hand watching x

thanks so much for this video martin, it is of special insterest to me as my dad worked there in the planing office and he used to ssy it was like going to work in a cathedral and loved it, look forward to the next video...a wonderful building! proud to be a mancunian!!! beryl

It’s a chart recorder, with two pens that would record the data from the reservoir

Great fascinating video Martin. Really enjoyed watching 📹

great video. what a privilege extended to you Martin. Huge thanks to you and those who allowed you the access.

Excellent, so pleased it`s being renovated, many a council would have tried to demolish it.

Been a few times to Manchester recently as daughter has started at the University. I’ve noticed some fantastic buildings like the library for example. Manchester must have been very wealthy years ago.

Hi Martin, as you said it is like some kind of strange jigsaw where all of the video's you have made are all fitting together, absolutely wonderful. The architecture at the town hall there is absolutely spellbinding, I was stunned by how beautiful the design was in the windows of that inner courtyard at 6:55, very beautiful to look at. The timbers in the spire were an art form in themselves, gorgeous. When you were on that ledge I bet your tummy was doing flip flops, I know mine was lol. Whilst you were on that ledge and looked up to the clock face at 20:32 you can just see the big hand move as you bring it into view, awesome. A fantastic video, you just seem to out do yourself with each one. Thank you so much for sharing that with us. 🙏🏻💖 xx

Wow! What a video adventure! Your town hall looks more like a Gothic Cathedral and that wind organ only makes it more so. What a grand place to have worked in, your hum drum day livened up by the beauty of the stone work and decorations. Everyone in Manchester should get to visit their town hall and admire the workmanship and learn some history about their city! I felt your fear when I saw you on that ledge and I was thinking "don't drop your camera", and yup, you voiced the very same words! That recorder machine probably belonged to the water department so they could keep track of how much water was in the reservoir and how much the city was using. This allowed them to regulate the flow into and out of the reservoir, especially in a dry summer.

Your documentary style videos are amazing and stunning. Not only will the subjects you’ve investigated live on, but yourself as the curator of these stories will live on as well. Thanks to you, a 100 years or more people will have these vignette’s of worlds forgotten to rely on.

Another great video Martin, thanks for taking us along.

Wow, just look at the internal courtyard architecture. All that detail.. All the superb design. All without a calculator never mind a CAD. Brilliant.

Town Hall episode 2. Another great instalment. Thanks Martin.

Another great video Martin. I really look forward to seeing new videos. And congratulations for facing your fears going across that ledge to show us the clock face. Thanks Andy

Such a treat to see the history of a structure people see daily yet know little of at times. You truly do a special service.Thank you Martin!

what can one say about this video ,fantastic history, magnificent building a big thank you to the project team for their time and effort to show you around and to you yourself for willingness to go that bit extra to go out on the narrow ledge and show us a close up of the clock face.looking forward to the rest of the series of Manchester town hall.well done martin....

My grandad actually worked on the organ at Manchester Town Hall. He worked for a company called Jardines of Manchester. They built the 5 manual console the organ has now, and also did a lot of other work on it. I have very fond memories as a child of going there with him and going right into the organ chambers and looking at the thousands of pipes in there.

That first instrument had the words "Budenberg Recorder" on it. As you may know, the Budenberg Gauge Co. is in Manchester - Northbanks Industrial Park, Irlam - and I'm sure they could tell you what it's for. Very interesting video.

Another evangelical triumph, Martin. The place reminds me of collegiate buildings at Oxbridge. Never thought the expression "history of all the linos" would feature in my Sunday evening entertainment...

Amazing work, Martin! That woodwork, in the spire, was lovely to see, for an old carpenter.

Rewatching these town hall pieces,and I find your work so important to those of us who love Manchester and it’s history.

Thanks for another amazing video.

Martin, thanks for challenging your fears to bring these great videos. Manchester was just another city in England until I discovered your videos. Now it's a place I want to visit because I feel as though I've been there. Keep up the good work! From Preston........Idaho.

Wow!! That was amazing. Thanks so much - can't wait for the next instalment! I work for a small district council myself and the scale and sheer civic pride of this building is mind blowing!

Martin, it's a tribute to your work that you are invited by these venues to document the work that's being done to restore them. Another fascinating video, thanks. And thanks for braving the ledge...my stomach was flipping when you turned the camera up to the clock face and I'm sitting on the sofa!

Great video Martin! Keep up the fantastic work!

Martin that was incredible , walked past it looked up at it never thought I could view it from the inside, keep up the good work Thank you

Very amazing video well done and keep up the great work and I love listening to your VIDEO'S as I am FULLY BLIND

Great viewing once again. As a born and bred Manc the only other way I can describe how I feel after watching this video is, green with envy!!.

Thank you so much for this video Martin...I would love to go up there! I lost count of the number of times I said, "Wow!" This is exactly what I love about Manchester, it's history and fabulous architecture. Love it, love it, love it! 😍

A beautiful video, Martin. At 12:56, when you're looking through that 1963 civil engineering directory, there's an advert for 'C.A. Blackwell'. A few years after 1963, my dad would be working with them. In 1963, when I was born, my dad was working for a petrol company called 'Aero'. They became 'Abco', and finally 'Arco'. All gone now, though I think C.A. Blackwell are still in operation, and from the same base. Brilliant video, and it's great that you have access to all those interesting areas little seen by normal visitors. Nice one.

Growing up in Salford I always loved looking at Manchester town hall and wondered what was inside. I love this video! Look forward to seeing the others x

I saw the Town Hall from the outside for the first time while visiting the Christmas market a few years ago. I was more impressed by the Town Hall. It's a spectacular building on the outside. Thanks for showing us the inside. It certainly has some stories to reveal.

Really great and interesting video as always.Was at my cousins wedding in Manchester Town Hall 4 years ago brilliant building 👍👍

Martin, I think your vlogs are brilliant. Historical, educational and entertaining vlogs like yours are not always easy to come by, but you have the knack. One thing that I find particularly amusing is the realization that while you show an intelligent fearlessness of exploring subterranean sites - places I'd never go, you have such a 'healthy respect' for heights. Thanks for all!

great video and an absolute amazing building. What a privilege. Even i got a bit dizzy when martin was up and out looking at clock face and im good with heights....loved it and cannot wait to see more.

Absolutely incredible, how much you would love to be let loose in a place like this with a key to every door so you could explore uninterrupted. Looking forward to the next one Martin. cheers Greg

Top video Martin unbelievable history in that building. Was it just me that thought the old lamp in the courtyard looked like a face peering down at you 😂 thanks for the video 👌🏻

Wonderful job Martin... I've not been well , but i'm still kicking... Been saving your videos for a rainy day ..They do me so much good ..Thank you x

Absolutely fantastic Martin.

Wow, absolutely stunning architecture! Well done Martin...brilliant job! 👍 Thank you for sharing...take care!

That Manchester town hall looks interesting past and present ther do tour after soon thank you Martin like old past things

STUNNING ! Thanks Martin , can’t wait fir the rest of these 😍👌🏼🧱👍🏼

Isn’t she just a beautiful Town Hall. Another keeper, thanks Martin

absolutely fantastic what a wonderful building look forward to more .

good stuff...Southampton Civic Centre built in the 1930's have kept their magnificent gents urinals......big troughs that you have to step up to, complete with the old tiling....a treat to stand and contemplate.....

Very enjoyable Martin. I have only just found you on you tube. I used to work at Refuge Assurance from 1975 to 1988 and it brought back lots of memories watching that video. I left Manchester for Australia and now in New Zealand

What a great video. Showing all kinds of smart solutions from the old days and the beautifull old building. Thanks.

Wow I need to visit Manchester asap

amazing job, Martin! impressive stuff!

Martin I'm fan of you work, originally from Salford but now living in North Country Dublin its great to see all the parts of Manchester that I knew nothing about. Many years ago I used to work on Tibb St in a big old building long since demolished. You may remember the place situated behind wat was then Debenhams. Its was at the time Status Paints, then became MFI. Keep up the good work, its lovely to hear the accent of a fellow Mancunian.

Excellent once again Martin. Thank you for sharing your video’s of places I might never get to see or explore!

Amazing as usual.

A great video of such an iconic building that was crafted with such skill and beauty, so many of these skills have been lost but you have shown an idea of how it was to build this. Awesome

The amount of history I saw just walking around Manchester in 2018, was really jaw dropping. Plaques everywhere in the city! I'm hoping to return in the future.

Wonderful job Martin ! Keep it up , can't wait for the next one !! Cheers

What a great video, thanks to all involved in taking you along Martin.

I have been going in and out of the Town Hall over a number of years (work related), and love the building. I have walked around many times just looking at the architecture (I've been in late at night on numerous some visits, so have been able to just take my time whilst on my own)... Great you've been given this opportunity, well played to those that approved your visits... Looking forward to the next installment... 😊

Superb video - stunning views thank you for sharing this with us 👏👏❤️😁xxx

Beautiful! As someone with vertigo but also a rock climber, I respect your conquering of your fear of heights!

Smashing video as always Martin. Manchester Town Hall is a fabulous example of the architecture that Waterhouse was known for, and still is. GWR

Yet again, thank you. Might sound awkward coming from some random guy from Spain who's never lived elsewhere, but I adored every moment of this. Drooled over the clock tower episode, as I said back then, and this further dive has been the blessing to definitely make my day now. Just... Wow.

Great video Martin, can not wait for the next one keep it up.

You know you've made it when they let you into places like this to take fantastic videos of what things were like "back in the day". A Great Building - good to see they are really looking after it. Real Manchester heritage. Keep 'em coming Martin.

Mint martin...i just love the workmanship and pride they took in building, just beautiful.

Great vlog. I love the Town Hall spent a lot of time there in the 60’s so I’m really jealous 😁

Fabulous! Thankyou for posting this. I have finally got to see parts of the Town Hall that I couldn't get in either on tours or when I was working in it.

I left school in 1966, and worked for Manchester Corporation Waterworks, in the Town Hall (Extension), until 1971. One of my jobs was to collect work sheets from the Pipelayers Office in the Town Hall Undercroft, I'm sure I remember seeing the Budenberg Gauges there. Your two videos have brought back memories of the days when I explored both the Town Hall and the Extension. The Extension is well worth a look, there were huge safes in the basement. I wonder if the cinema is still there?

Wow! At 7:10 thats got to be the most "Harry Potter" court yard ever! Very cool

Great work as always. I've walked past hundreds of times and never noticed those gargoyles on the clock tower

Great stuff mate some really interesting finds.

As a exiled Manchester lad, thank you for bringing memories back!

Brilliant and most interesting as usual Martin