About us
Your Place Revealed was created to help people understand the history of the places around them, not just famous landmarks, but ordinary buildings, streets, sites and neighbourhoods with stories hidden in plain sight.
We approach each project as a piece of place-based research, using a mixture of historic maps, archive photographs, newspaper articles, trade directories, planning records, local history sources and online databases. Manchester is particularly rich in this kind of material, with thousands of historic images, detailed maps and archive records that can help reveal how an area has changed over time.
The work is part detective story, part local history and part visual storytelling. Sometimes the history of a building is well documented. Sometimes the story has to be pieced together from clues: an old street name, a former business, a vanished building, a newspaper report, a planning application, or the way a site appears on different maps across the centuries.
We have strong knowledge of Manchester’s buildings, streets and archives, along with links to local libraries, collections and research resources. We know where to look, how to read the evidence, and how to turn that research into something clear, engaging and useful.
The result is not just a list of facts. It is a story of place... showing how a location has evolved, who and what was connected to it, and why it still matters today.
Researchers & Storytellers
Jonathan is a Manchester-based writer, historian, broadcaster, publisher and Blue Badge Guide who has been telling the city’s stories since 1996. He’s fascinated by the oddities, characters, buildings and buried histories that make places memorable… from medieval libraries and radical politics to pubs, music, public art and the strange details most people walk past.
His work brings together deep research, humour and a sharp eye for the unexpected. Manchester gives him endless material: a city of invention, argument, reinvention and surprise, where every street seems to hide another story waiting to be uncovered.
Ric is a Manchester-born architect who’s worked in the city centre since his teens. He’s fascinated by how places evolve… how design, planning and everyday life leave their marks, blending architectural insight with social history, a little nostalgia and the human stories behind brick, stone and glass.
He loves unearthing hidden facts and reading the city’s clues, and Manchester is the perfect scale for it: big enough to be global, small enough to feel connected. Its resilience, progressive streak and cultural diversity… from music to making… give endless material.
Tell us about Your Place…
Every project starts with a place. It might be a building, workplace, development site, venue, street, neighbourhood or somewhere you have always been curious about.
Tell us where it is, what you already know, and what you would like to discover. We can then suggest the most suitable research option and let you know what may be possible.