Up to the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, the area now occupied by St Peter's Square was at the edge of the town of Manchester, bounded by countryside on its south, west and east sides, with open fields running down to the River Medlock.

In 1819, a crowd of protestors gathered here demanding Parliamentary reform; this protest was violently put down by army forces.

Thus, St Peter's Church gave its name not only to the surrounding locations, but also to one of the most prominent violent events in British political history.

[4] From the 1860s, the south side of the square was occupied by the Prince's Theatre, a popular entertainment venue designed by the architect Edward Salomons and opened in 1864.

This large, ornate building was designed by Charles Trubshaw in Edwardian Baroque style and is clad in red brick, brown terracotta and polished granite.

Architect Vincent Harris won a competition to build the new Manchester Central Library on the western side of the square, on the junction with Peter Street.

The 11-storey building is clad in Portland stone and notably is built on a curve to match the ben in Oxford Street.

It was originally intended to be clad in stone to complement neighbouring buildings, but due to a limited budget, the developer used concrete facing instead.

[14][15] In the later 20th century, as the city's transport network developed, St Peter's Square began to emerge as a potential location for a rapid transit station.

In the 1970s, proposals for the Picc-Vic tunnel envisaged the construction of an underground railway station to serve both St Peter's and the neighbouring Albert Square.

In 2013, Manchester City Council approved plans for the redevelopment of the square, including the expansion of the Metrolink stop to four platforms.

The £20 million scheme involved moving the Cenotaph, demolishing the Art Deco Century House to establish a new office quarter and closing Library Walk to the public.

[19] The Manchester Modernist Society objected to the planned alterations to the square, arguing that the collection of Lutyens' Cenotaph and Central Library and the Town Hall extension formed "one of the best inter-war ensembles in the country", and criticising the scheme as "bland and insipid".

[24][25] John Cassidy's 1907 bronze sculpture, Adrift, depicts a family clinging to a raft in a stormy sea, with a central male figure holding a sheet aloft signaling distress.