The Old Abbey Taphouse

The Old Abbey Taphouse stood at Guildhall Close in Manchester, in a Victorian pub building that first opened in the 1890s and is the last surviving structure of the Greenheys Estate. It reopened in October 2016 as a community pub and venue centred on science, technology, engineering, art and maths. The site also hosted events, and its history includes Len Johnson’s 1952 campaign against the pub’s colour bar. Its uses included music, community activities, fundraising and work-desk space, and it was home to Steam Radio and the band Galivantes.

Facilities included an ethical kitchen, bakery and on-site microbrewery, as well as upstairs rooms for recording and rehearsal and a Well Being Studio. The yard contained the Urban Farm Project and Vox Box Studio. The venue had a restored 1890s bar and a music room with capacity for 100; its overall capacity was about 200, rising to 300 with an outdoor stage and marquee in 2017. Visiting sound systems held takeovers there, including Pub Dub and Dub Smugglers.

Insidious Audio, Bloc 2 Bloc and Old Abbey Taphouse were among the promoters that ran events at the venue. Artists who played there included Kniiight, Maggy B, Xodiak and Spooky. The Old Abbey Taphouse closed permanently in March 2025, following its last public event on February 15. Local promoters Now Wave restored and reopened the building as The Abbey in June 2026.