The Carlton Club

Whalley In The Range, to use the formal name, was one of Manchester’s original suburbs. Created to offer “a desirable estate for gentlemen and their families”, by 1867 the area had its own postcode, and by 1913 a company was established in the area to buy and run Rowan Lodge. This sprawling mansion set on a typically leafy street for the area is still under the same ownership today, and most people know it as The Carlton Club. A slightly ramshackle, very DIY-feeling space that serves a multitude of purposes, all in the name of community. 

One look at the events programme is enough to show you how broad things are here. Mondays, for example, might involve a meeting of the backgammon club, with some of the North West’s best players involved. Tuesday mornings welcome a midweek gardening club, which is open for anyone with an interest in green-fingered things. Art social workshops run on Wednesdays, with dance classes, pilates, and yoga occupying other time-slots through to Friday. From Thursdays onwards this place really comes alive, though, with a combination of pop-up food vendors, bric-a-brac drives, live concerts, all-day ambient music showcases and some rave-y club events that bring in a more mature, refreshingly clued up crowd than many dance floors in town. 

Home On The Range is arguably the most famous party in the diary, and a longstanding fixture. Expect disco chug, weird pop, up front house and pared back techno in the mix, to name but a few sounds. Brume Sunday, meanwhile, opens the building and its garden up for more laidback and downtempo sounds, while other key sessions to remember include the Flamenco Social Jam, and Rummage On the Range — arguably the coolest car boot sale in the country, complete with soundtrack. Totally unique, run by and for the people it serves, there’s a reason why The Carlton Club ranks on every local’s list of treasured assets.