The Peveril of the Peak on Great Bridgewater Street in Manchester has been named the best pub in the country by Time Out London. The Grade II-listed pub, which opened around 1820, is known for its green-tiled exterior and Victorian interior features.
Top spot in Time Out's list
Time Out London's 22 Best Pubs in the UK list placed the pub at number one, based on the verdicts of its ‘UK-wide network of drinking aficionados’. Writer Kyle MacNeill described it as ‘the kind of pub that’s so perfect, it deserves to serve as the venue for the wetting of your head, your wedding and your wake’.
The pub has been praised for its ‘dazzling green, yellow and brown tiling’, original stained glass windows, and emerald door. Special mention was given to landlady Nancy Swanick, who has been at the pub for over 50 years.
History and famous visitors
The Peveril of the Peak has been frequented by the late actor Robbie Coltrane and football icon Eric Cantona. It also served as the backdrop for an Oasis photoshoot in the 1990s and appeared in the 2024 Netflix series Fool Me Once.
In 2021, Nancy's son Maurice told the Manchester Evening News that his mother worked to preserve the pub's character: “My mum's always fought hard not to have anything changed in the pub. She's fought tooth and nail to not have any modernisation or things like that. She's a very proud Irish lady and her word goes!”
Name origins and lore
The pub's name is disputed: some attribute it to Sir Walter Scott's 1823 novel of the same name, while others say it references a horse-drawn carriage that traveled from Manchester to London in two days. During World War II, the pub reportedly operated as a brothel, and it is said to be haunted, with reports of levitating pint glasses and moving chairs.
Other pubs in the list
Ancoats pub The Marble Arch ranked 15th, commended for ‘excellent ales’ from Marble Brewery and its ‘glorious tiling’. Other included pubs are Cardiff's Flute and Tankard, The Old Neptune in Kent, and Glasgow's The Doublet.
The Peverill of the Peak is at 127 Great Bridgewater St, Manchester M1 5JQ.
