Vimto Gardens



This development is part of the rejuvenation of Chapel Street.  The complex contain 83 apartments and 14 town houses. 





The former Bell Tower public house has been incorporated into the development.  The pub was demolished but its Grade II listed facade was saved.



The name comes from the fact that in 1910 Mr. John Nichols set up his factory nearby at 203A Chapel Street to produce a drink that he called Vimto.  Made from the juice of grapes, raspberries and blackcurrants, the drink was originally known as Vim Tonic and was sold as a health tonic.  Nichols continued to produce Vimto on Chapel Street until 1927 when the operation moved into Manchester to a former laundry building on Ayres Road in Old Trafford.

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Images from the construction phase.





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In the 1840s this site (shaded in red on the map below) was home to what appear to be rather large houses.  The pub was there at that time although it was called The Angel Inn.