The Tower of Hmp Manchester is a Grade II listed building in the Manchester local planning authority area, England. First listed on 3 October 1974. A C19 Prison tower. 14 related planning applications.

The Tower of Hmp Manchester

WRENN ID
sombre-ledge-owl
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Manchester
Constituency
Manchester Central MP: Lucy Powell (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
3 October 1974
Type
Prison tower
Address
The Tower of Hmp Manchester, Southall Street
OS grid reference
SJ 838 996
Coordinates
53.49308, -2.24562
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Tower of HMP Manchester, formerly known as the Tower of Strangeways Gaol, is an extraction tower for the heating and ventilation system, built between 1866 and 1868 by Alfred Waterhouse. It is constructed of red brick with sandstone dressings and has an octagonal plan. The tower is designed in a minaret style and stands approximately 234 feet high. Each side features an arched recess, and there is a perimeter gallery with a brick balustraded parapet supported by stone corbels. At the top, a domed cupola has louvred openings and cast-iron cresting on the roof. This tower is a very prominent landmark in the area of the city.

Local climate

The Tower of Hmp Manchester sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,060 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 85% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 77% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 43 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 84% of listed buildings. Of these, 23 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 14 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Former Boys Prison Block of Hmp Manchester Grade II 62 m
  2. Main Prison Block of Hmp Manchester Grade II 64 m
  3. Gatehouse of Hmp Manchester Grade II 97 m
  4. Knowsley Hotel Grade II 351 m
  5. St Chad's Cheetham Hill First World War Memorial Cross Grade II 371 m
  6. Cheetham Town Hall (Former) Grade II 382 m
  7. Cheetham Town Hall Annexe (Former) Grade II 396 m
  8. Roman Catholic Church of St Chad and attached Presbytery, and Boundary Walls Grade II 405 m
  9. Former Synagogue Grade II 405 m
  10. Former Free Library Grade II 412 m