Manchester Town Hall will be the star of a documentary this evening.
The iconic 19th century building will feature on Great British Landmark Fixers tonight at 8pm on the TV channel, Yesterday.
The show will feature treasures discovered throughout the renovations, as well as taking the viewers behind the scenes.
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Great British Landmark Fixers will also explore how the building has served the city for the last 144 years.
A trailer released for the programme describes the importance of Manchester's town hall and the work that has gone into its restoration.
One snippet shows one person describing how the town hall is 'an opportunity for the council to say, 'this is Manchester. Look at us, we're doing absolutely fantastically'.
Designed by architect Alfred Waterhouse, the building is an example of Gothic Revival architecture, and has been used in many TV shows and films including Peaky Blinders, Sherlock Holmes and the Iron Lady.
Steve Hannon, who works as building logistics lead for Manchester town hall, and features in the documentary, described some of the treasures, artefacts and generally odd finds the construction team have unearthed and that may feature in the show this evening.
He said: "What we found, we found quite a lot of bottles, and some quite run of the mill bottles that have been cast aside by people by people when they had been working on the building.
"We've also found a couple of bottles that have been left as a historic reference item.
"One of them is a ginger beer bottle and I don't want to spoil it too much, it was produced by a local company, that was embedded into one of the chimneys so not left there accidentally. It still had the cork stopper in it.
"We found a shoe, a sandal shoe buried into the building."
The concealment of shoes into a building's foundations was not unusual in the 19th century.
It was believed that by concealing a shoe in the building, you were protecting it against the influences of evil as a shoe, which maintains the shape of the foot of the wearer, would hold an imprint of personality from its owner.
Mr. Hannon did not want to give too much away, but told the Manchester Evening News that hundreds of oyster shells had been found under the foundations in the courtyard, where he assumed the builders would have their lunch.
Finally, and somewhat cryptically he added: "There's a lot of artefacts that you'd expect to see, but not where you'd expect them to be."
Repairs to the town hall started in 2018 and are expected to be completed in 2024, however due to complications relating to Covid and nesting peregine falcons, the reopening has been postponed.
The documentary will show some of the painstaking work which is going to restore many elements of the building.
Hundreds of stained glass windows, the stonework, murals and mosaics as well as the clock are all being worked on as part of the restoration.
It is hoped that the restoration of the town hall will help it continue to be a civic centre for many more years.
Council Leader Bev Craig, lead member for the Our Town Hall project, said: “Manchester Town Hall is a building with a long and fascinating history and the work which is taking place now to safeguard it, while sympathetically bringing it up to modern access and safety standards, is the latest chapter in that story.
“This documentary really gets across the scope of the project, the level of care and attention that is being put into the smallest detail and the pride and passion of those who are working on it for the city.
“It showcases the beauty of the building and the fact that its treasures, including some artefacts we are finding through the works, will be more accessible to the public once it reopens.
“It also touches on the lasting social legacy we are generating too. More than 200 jobs, and 74 apprenticeships, have been created so far.
“Some 75% of the money spent on the project has been with Greater Manchester-based companies, 61% of it with Manchester firms.
“We’re not just investing in the building, we’re investing in the future of Manchester people and the area.
“I’d encourage anyone who is interested in finding out more about this project, the biggest heritage project currently underway in the UK, to watch.”
The Yesterday channel can be watched on Freeview Channel 26, Sky 155, Virgin 129, Freesat 159 and youview 26. It will also be available to stream after broadcast on UKTV Play.
