History of Manchester - 6. Cottonopolis

In the 19th century Manchester was leading the world in industrialisation and had become a global powerhouse in the manufacture of textiles. But it also meant the sweeping away of the old world and the introduction of a new way of life for ordinary working people.

With only a handful of remaining sites left from those days, I want to build a picture of how the city actually developed from the point of view of the people behind the glamour and glory of the industrial revolution - working class Mancunians.

Its a tale of slums, disease and desperation. Knife-wielding teens known as Scuttlers, and desperate poverty. But with a growing civic pride, and an increasing sense of compassion, its also a story of public parks, sanitation and municipal housing. A century of growth, for better and for worse.

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MUSIC USED:

'Cherry Ripe' - Joe Silver & the Rockville Brass Band
'Whisky for Interrogation' - ROZKOL

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
02:21 Industrialisation
07:49 Birth of the Middle Class
08:56 Population Growth
10:46 Slums and Disease
14:50 New Housing and Parks
18:35 A City Hall
21:47 Mass Entertainment
23:15 Scuttlers!
25:56 Manchester Ship Canal
28:26 Salford

[mrlister]

I'm a Scouser, but that was an amazing video about Manchester!

[lukeykishlukey]

I’m from Manchester and I see these houses and buildings often and had no idea how interesting our city is and how much history it has. Great video

[ianp]

Just found this video, it's great!

I live in the northern quarter, just off great ancoats street. I've been fascinated about the history of the buildings which seems to have been (mostly) forgotten or erased. Most people living here are probably oblivious to the reason the beautiful buildings they're living in are standing. My Grandad who died back in 1989 was born and raised in Ancoats, I only found this out a year ago after finding his birth record online. It's nice to know that a man I never knew but I'm so closely related to lived just over the road!

[gigteevee]

I visited Manchester today for the first time on a day trip to visit an art exhibition, as a life long Londoner I was seriously impressed with the cities historic architecture and general good atmosphere. After seeing your whole history playlist back to back I’ll return in the spring to explore, thanks for the well produced inspirational work on your city 🐝

[Nathan.Manchester]

Wow your channel had boomed well done you deserve it 👍👍

[Stno]

Great video! For example a city in Poland called Łódź was nicknamed "Polish Manchester" - just like it, it grew exponentially in the 19th century as a textile manufacturing city, becoming one the largest such cities in Europe with Polish, German, Russian and Jewish capital flowing in. Most famous factory (still standing and redeveloped) was Manufaktura. The city is also a stage was an amazing book by Wladyslaw Reymont "The Promised Land", telling the story of an early 19th century cutthroat capitalism.

[markbooth]

I am old enough to remember the slum dwellings. When I was Primary school age, we lived at 5 Peacock Street in Gorton, long demolished in the early 1970's the street named after Bayer-Peacock in an Victorian old 2 up, 2 down with no hot water, except for a small gas boiler above the kitchen sink, a tin bath, outside toilet down the bottom of the yard and a cast iron range in the downstairs back room. I went to Peacock Street Primary, I believe the same Primary school as Myra Hindley did. It seems ancient, but I am only in my middle 50's.
My kids and Grand kids think I was brought up in the Stone Age, but it is only 50 or so years ago. They take for granted such things as double glazing, central heating and wifi.

[finlayhopkins]

Manchester has a proud history and is now the fastest growing city in the uk

[VimyScout]

Whole family grew up in Manchester some years past. Wonderful to see it's legacy like this out there for many to see. Would love to see you do a tribute to Belle Vue.

[dazhatch]

Just found this channel.
Wow. Absolutely superb. Lucky enough to be mancunian so it's all familiar to me...

[PeterCrighton]

Thanks for doing these videos! They are hugely interesting to me, as my ancestors came down from Scotland to Manchester in the early 19th century. They were machine makers and had their iron works under the name of Crighton & Co. and Crighton & Sons at Lower Mosley Street, Great Bridgewater Street, and later at Castlefield for the most part of the century. Someday I’ll need to visit the city!

[mikeheap]

Love the history of Manchester series, great content, can't get enough of it.
Any thoughts on doing a series about the oldest pubs left in Manchester before they've all gone. I'm 57 and used to come into Manchester in the early 80's on pub crawls with mates and I'd say 50% of the old pubs have now gone.
Thanks for your content and great efforts 👍

[jetsons]

Working class / Middle Class people are some of the BEST in the world.... Great vid and thanks for

[viennacat]

Superb video! This is such a rich & interesting period that's always captured my imagination. Despite the rush of new builds in the city over the last 20 years its still amazing that there are little pockets of history doted around. Technically your presentation and the quality of your work is right up there too, well done!

[CirclingDuck]

An absolutely fantastic video. Thanks for all your work on this and the rest of the series.

[jimmyviaductophilelawley]

Hi olly...what can I say? I effin love this series. .each one is like a historical video painting..well researched well put together well done mate! Best wishes and take care

[birotomodachi]

Recently new to your channel, I’ve been working my way through all your old films. I’ve been holding off making a comment to request an episode just like this one in the hope that I’ve come across it.

My grandmother and her family (Pinner) immigrated from Manchester - leaving Robert St. West Gorton in 1927. She arrived in Australia 6 y.o.

Thank you for this excellent episode. It gives us a bit of insight into how ordinary people lived. It would be great to learn even more about how and from where all the people who migrated into Manchester came from.

[philhermetic]

Brilliant video!!¬ I was lost in it for every minute of it, although I come from over the border in Pudsey twixt Leeds and Bradford. I can remeber everything there being black too! The only let down was the fact that you didn't sing Runcorn!
Phil, East Yorkshire

[mikethepsych]

Didn't L.S Lowry live in Victoria park for a while?
Wow! You covered some ground in this video. Good effort.

[quickclipsbyjmj]

Another great video, Ollie. Belle Vue was bought by the Trusthouse Forte group in the 1980s. They ran it into the ground and sold the site for redevelopment.