Buttress Architects | Mackie Mayor

The Mackie Mayor is a Grade II listed, ornate purpose-built meat market hall which had sadly lain empty and neglected for more than 20 years.

Built in 1858, the Mackie Mayor was once part of Manchester’s thriving, seven-acre Smithfield Market complex, believed, at the turn of the century, to be the largest market site in Britain. The decline in market trading over the years however, saw the Mackie Mayor close as a market in the 1970s, briefly reopening as a skate park in the 1990s.

Initial repair work saw the internal partitions and all debris removed, and the internal finishes stripped back. The roof was re-glazed to make the building watertight and the stone envelope was repaired and restored.

The aim of these first phase repairs was to ensure that the building could be brought back into beneficial use.

Following this stage of work, a lease was agreed and we worked with the market’s new operator to secure planning permission to turn the building into a leisure and dining venue; a space that will contribute to the Northern Quarter’s thriving food and drink scene.

RICS North West Awards 2018: Shortlisted for the Regeneration and Building Conservation Awards
Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Building of the Year Finalist
Buttress has worked on the Mackie Mayor for a number of years. During this time, we have undertaken successive Condition Surveys for Manchester City Council, as well as feasibility options developments.

In 2015, we were engaged by agents, Muse Developments, to help with essential repair work, and to undertake limited restoration work to make the building safe and viable for full redevelopment.