Together Trust Archive

“The first fruit of our mission from the Charter Street Roughs” Robert was admitted to the Central Refuge on Francis Street on the 1 November 1875. The first admission book, where his entry is recorded, is scant in detail, as was typical for the first few years of the charity. We do know however that he was admitted at the age of 17, both parents having passed away and that he was ‘rescued’ by the charity from the notorious district of Angel Meadow.  Admission Entry for Robert, November 1875

When the Manchester Refuges began in 1870 it catered for children in some of the most dire straits. The slum areas of Angel Meadow, Ancoats and Blackfriars spewed out dirty, ragged and half starved children that were often in need of assistance from the church or charities to avoid the dreaded shadow of the Workhouse .  In the Manchester Slums

We’ve provided various stories in the last few weeks about some of our fallen heroes in World War One. This week we’re turning away from the battlefields of France and Flanders, back to the city of Manchester to honour the passing of a highly influential individual, who had many dealings with the Refuges over the years, Thomas (Tommy) Johnson. Thomas (Tommy) Johnson

I was lent a book recently entitled, ' The Gangs of Manchester: The Story of The Scuttlers' by Andrew Davies . The book revolves around Manchester at the end of the nineteenth century and the turf wars which existed between groups of teenagers. Scuttlers belonged to their own distinct group; the Bengal Tigers, the Meadow Lads and the Pollard Street Scuttlers, to name a few, fiercely defended their own patch. Weapons included belt buckles and knives as well as the boy’s fists and feet. From 1870 the industrial slums of Manchester and Salford saw the emergence of a brutal gang culture that lasted for 30 years.  Strangeways Prison – A common sight to many a scuttler “A scuttler is a lad, usually between the ages of 14 and 18, or even 19, and scuttling consists of the fighting of two opposed bands of youths, who are armed with various weapons”. — Alexander Devine , Scuttlers and Scuttling: Their Prevention and Cure. (Manchester, 1890)  So how is this book relevan...

The 22nd November – 22 December 2012 is UK Disability History Month (UKDHM) . This is an annual event which strives to ‘raise awareness of the unequal position of disabled people in society and to advocate disability equality’, as well as ‘developing an understanding of the historical roots of this inequality’. The Together Trust has a long history of working with children and adults with disabilities and as we celebrate UKDHM this month we will be looking back over our next few blogs as to how our work in disability began. Bethesda family c.1900

Boys' rest and coffee room, 1883 This rather faded photograph was found within a mixture of other photographs taken in the 1880’s, which showed several of the charity’s different homes and services. This image shows an old public house situated at the bottom of Angel Street at St Michael's Place and known as the Old Victory.

Imagine this... ...it’s 1870 and as a wealthy member of Manchester’s higher society you are strolling through the streets of Manchester, maybe after a trip to the Theatre Royal on Peter Street, when suddenly a small boy approaches you. “Buy a newspaper sir?” he pleads. Looking at him you can see he is barely over 8 years old. He’s small for his age after a lifetime of living in a crowded basement flat in Angel Meadow , rarely getting enough to eat and being largely neglected by his careless parents. Their only words are to tell him to not bother coming home until he has enough money to buy them their drink for the night. It’s coming up to midnight and the anxious look on his face tells you that tonight he has not achieved this… Street hawkers