Peveril of the Peak
127 Great Bridgewater StreetManchester
M1 5JQ
See more about this pub on WhatPub, CAMRA's national pub guide.
The 'Pev' is a famous Manchester institution, still run by the city’s longest serving landlady with 51 years service in 2022. A splendid etched mirror hangs over the fireplace in the snug (formerly the Smoke Room), commemorating the first forty years of her tenure. The pub, like its landlady, is a great survivor. It stands as a small triangular island of civilised drinking, shorn of the rest of the original terrace but surrounded by much taller office and apartment blocks of both 19th and 21st century origin. The glorious green tiled exterior hides an even more splendid interior, full of polished wood, stained glass and traditional bench seating along the walls – much of it with the original bell pushes that once summoned bar staff to take customers' orders. There are four distinct drinking areas. Entering from the street you find yourself in a long and twisting drinking lobby surrounding the island bar. Behind the bar, in the V of the pub's wedge shape, is the public bar, featuring an unusual and antique “table football” machine. In the opposite direction are another wedge-shaped room (the afore-mentioned cosy snug, often the venue for folk groups) and the L-shaped rear room.