Afflecks Palace

Afflecks (formerly Affleck's Palace) is an indoor market in Manchester, England, in the city's Northern Quarter on the junction of Church Street/Tib Street and Dale Street with Oldham Street. Dozens of independent stalls, small shops and boutiques operate in the one building. The building was once occupied by a department store called Affleck and Brown as a store and office space, hence the name.

Affleck & Brown was started in the 1860s as a drapery business in Oldham Street. The store grew to occupy a whole block between Oldham Street, Church Street and Tib Street and become a full flung department store. The business had a good reputation as a credit draper and was known for a good range of cloth for home dressmaking as well as a furrier.

The business started to decline after the advent of the Second World War as shopping moved away from Oldham Street, and in the 1950s Debenhams added the store to their portfolio. But the continued decline of the area and the ownership of another Manchester department Store, Pauldens saw the store close down in 1973.

Affleck's Palace first opened in 1981 by James and Elaine Walsh with an ethos of offering a safe environment for entrepreneurs to start out with affordable rent and no long term contracts. Unit holders operated under a licence agreement which allowed them to pay for space on a week by week basis. The atmosphere and colourful maze-like layout led to Affleck's becoming a mecca for alternative culture. The establishment was able to bounce back from two building fires and overcame many obstacles.

During the 1990s 'Madchester Summer of Love' period, when local bands like the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and Inspiral Carpets were at the height of their popularity; Affleck's Palace was a fashionable spot to get oversized flared jeans and tie dyed T-shirts and 'Eastern Bloc' was a popular record shop as it dealt in all the latest underground dance tunes of the time.

On 31 March 2008, Affleck's Palace ceased trading. It re-opened on 1 April 2008 as Afflecks under new management. Afflecks is now managed by Mancunian property developer Bruntwood after the expiry of a 25-year lease in 2007. It had been previously suggested that Bruntwood would redevelop the building, possibly leading to its closure as a market, with many traders having feared that closure would be likely and that notice could have been given as soon as the end of January.

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