05/07
Archives reveal the personal stories of the workers and makers of Greater Manchester’s industrial heritage, from cotton mills to the Ship Canal.
Thomas Barnes of Stephenson Street, Horwich, started work at the forge at 6am on the morning of 14 July 1898.
According to his obituary, John Scholes was a well known Manchester character who could often be found in the antiquarian bookshops of Manchester.
The Manchester Ship Canal transformed a land-locked industrial city into England’s fourth-biggest port and continues to provide an economic legacy for the whole region.
The nineteenth century in colour
Quarry Bank Mill in Styal was founded in 1784 by a young textile merchant, Samuel Greg.
Between 1780 and 1820 Manchester was caught in a whirlwind of change. In 1783 there was only one water powered cotton mill, that of Richard Arkwright in Shudehill.