Catastrophic fire destroys a huge part of our history!

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Posted on 08 September 2025

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Catastrophic fire destroys a huge part of our history

The Hotspur Press sits on the corner of Cambridge Street and Whitworth Street in central Manchester, to the west of Oxford Road Station. Today, this remarkable 6-storey building is facing an increasingly uncertain future. After a catastrophic fire left its interior gutted, only its scorched shell remains, and debates are raging about its future. In this article, we’ll trace the Hotspur Press’s evolution from its 19th-century origins as a cotton mill, to its reincarnation as a vibrant printing press, charting the events that culminated in the recent blaze and examining the competing visions for its future.

The origins of the Hotspur Press stretch back to at least 1801 - it is thought to be one of Manchester’s oldest surviving cotton mills - and was named the Medlock Mill, as it was situated on the banks of the River Medlock. The mill’s walls were built to follow the shape of the river.

Cotton Mill

In January 1801, a devastating fire tore through the mill and as many as forty people lost their lives. But out of this tragedy, came an opportunity:  the property was subsequently acquired and restored by John Fairweather, a cotton industrialist. At the height of the industrial revolution, Manchester, known as a Cottonopolis, became the epicentre of the global cotton trade. Its economy was transformed and it became the world's first industrialised city.

In 1837, yet another fire broke out at the Medlock Mill, destroying the engine house and store room. Rumours began to circulate that the mill was destined to burn. It was eventually sold to John Rylands, who expanded the mill to operate as a textile factory, producing finished garments, including shirts, pattern cards and printed cardboard boxes. Much of the printing process was handled in-house, rather than relying on external printing companies for advertising and packaging. Rylands went on to become the largest textile manufacturer in the UK.

The Percy Brothers and The Printing Press Era

By around 1902 the mill had been purchased by the Percy brothers (Thomas and John). The Percy brothers turned it into a printing press and changed its name to the Hotspur Press. The Hotspur Press printed a wide variety of newspapers and books, including:

•        The International Women's Suffrage News, which played an important part in promoting the suffragette movement in the north of England;
•        The Textile Weekly
•        Our Dogs
•        Philately (a magazine for stamp collectors)

The building even survived World War II, despite receiving a direct hit during the Blitz. Percy Brothers closed in 1996.

Decline and Artistic Revival

In its final incarnation, the building was rented out to numerous individual artists as art studios, and for a short period of time the building was brought back to life. However, by 2017, the structure had been pushed to the margins and was in a state of severe disrepair. The Hotspur Press was declared to be structurally unsound and in need of extensive reconstruction before it would be habitable.

Current Redevelopment Plans

MCR Property Group purchased the Hotspur Press in 2015 for £2.65 million. Plans were subsequently drawn up for the building to be converted into a block of 171 residential apartments. Although planning permission was granted in 2020, the project stalled before any construction work could take place.

Student Accommodation Proposals and Listing Controversy

In 2023, a revived planning bid was launched to convert the Hotspur Press into purpose-built student accommodation, comprising 595 beds and 37 storeys, and including a 10,000 square foot public square. By this time the previous plans for residential development were no longer viable.

Under the new proposals, the iconic blue Percy Brothers signage, along with much of the building's original façade, would be retained and restored. The application received planning permission in May 2024, and the building's fate appeared to be decided. However, in the weeks that followed, an anonymous application was received for the building to be listed.

Historic England had assessed the building previously on two occasions (in 1993 and 2019) and had decided against awarding the building a national listing. However, a new review carried out by Salford Archaeology found that the mill had more historical value than had previously been thought, as some of the walls probably dated back even further, at least to 1794. The fact that the building was now the only remaining example of a former steam-assisted and water-powered mill also made a strong case for its preservation. As a consequence, Historic England strongly recommended that the Hotspur Press should receive a national listing.

In response, the developers (Manner) launched a counter-campaign to “save the hotspur press” arguing that a national listing would increase the risk of the building being condemned. Following eight months of uncertainty, the culture secretary rejected the listed building application. This decision was highly unusual because Historic England's recommendations for a building to be listed are rarely turned down .

Further Challenges and Revisions

In February 2025, the Georgian Group, SAVE, the Council for British Archaeology and the Victorian Society jointly requested a review of the culture secretary's decision, arguing that the mill's preservation was essential, given that over half of Manchester's historic mills have been lost since the 1980s.

Late March brought another twist in the Hotspur Press saga. The developers revised their proposals, increasing the number of beds to 619 and suggesting that the brick façade of the tower would now be clad in aluminium. Although the cladding would significantly alter the building’s visual appearance, the aim was probably to reduce the mounting costs of this multi-million-pound project.

June 2025 Fire

In the afternoon of June 23rd another major fire began at the Hotspur Press, destroying much of its interior, and beginning to spread to two tower blocks nearby. Recriminations ensued, with some blaming the building’s owners for failing to adequately secure the site and allowing the Hotspur Press to fall into such a state of dereliction. Others argued that the listing application had created months of uncertainty and stalled the development.

Having undergone significant fire damage, the structure of the Hotspur press was now dangerously unsound; its charred beams and collapsed floors stark reminders of the building’s turbulent past.

For more than a year, heritage conservationists and developers have been locked in a battle over the building's future. Some envision a sensitive restoration of the Hotspur Press, but proponents of redevelopment once again see opportunity amidst the ruins. They argue that the city cannot afford to let the site languish for many more years, becoming both an eyesore and a hazard. Both sides claim that they are trying to save the Hotspur Press. Much of this extraordinary building’s fate will now depend on how much is salvageable from the recent fire.

 

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