Ancoats

Kissing the Shuttle

How an invention that sparked the industrial revolution in Lancashire became a hidden killer of the region's mill workers

Jan 18 •

The Whiskey Wakes

When the priest entered the house, the dead man was laid out on the bed with a lit pipe of tobacco in his mouth

Nov 23, 2024 •

The scuttlers and the police who fought back

When the scuttler Henry Burgess waged a one-man terror campaign on the streets of Manchester, only one man was brave enough to stop him

Nov 16, 2024 •

Guns and nettle beer

James Downey was a cobbler by day and a Chartist arms dealer by night

Sep 14, 2024 •

The Noble Art of Hawking

Hawkers were an everyday part of Victorian city life

Aug 11, 2024 •

The coffin flood

'For all we know, hundreds of bodies have been washed down the river, and some of them have gone into the sea' - the horror of Manchester's worst flood

May 11, 2024 •

Welcome to the Manchester History Club

Join the new club for Mancunian history fans and share the story of the world's first modern city

Apr 19, 2024 •

The fall and rise of Nancy Dickybird

She was the terror of Manchester police, but Nancy Dickybird became beloved by Mancunians for her singing from the city's jail cells

Oct 28, 2023 •

The Ancoats Skylark

The forgotten story of a Manchester songbird that inspired a poet

Aug 26, 2023

Finding William: An Irish family history story

How a 30 year search across the Irish Sea taught me about a man I could never hope to meet

Jun 3, 2023 •

After the Manchester ‘slum clearances’, where did your family end up?

I’ve always wondered where Manchester families ended up after the old houses were demolished in Ancoats, Collyhurst, Miles Platting and other pa…

Jun 1, 2023 •

Was your ancestor a Manchester scuttler?

The scuttlers of Ancoats, Collyhurst, Miles Platting, Beswick and Bradford were among the most feared street fighters in the Victorian city. Can you…

May 27, 2023 •

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