Walking into this place really is (excuse the cliché) like stepping back in time – providing you can ignore the chrome coffee machine and smoke-less air of course. Housed in a former Georgian House on Cross Street, this Manchester institution first opened as a pub and restaurant by Thomas Studd in 1870.
Before 1901, hard as it is to believe, Mr Thomas’s was actually smaller than it is now. Just after the turn of the century, the pub was rebuilt and extended in the archetypal Victorian style in which it remains today. The Victorian ceramic tiled interior looks as perfect as the day it was made and the incredible gothic exterior stands in ridiculous contrast to the neighbouring office blocks.
Wondering what a chophouse is? As was I. Contrary to my initial thoughts, it has nothing to do with meat! Chop houses are actually, traditionally, places where businessmen ate, drank and conducted their business – and they date back to the sixteenth century.
This chop house comes close to the fine line between old pub and living museum. Either way, the combination of authentic history and beer is surely every history students’ dream; don’t forget your top hat or petticoat – Topshop jeans and a Blackberry are simply out of place!