Together Trust Archive

Tomorrow, Saturday 4th January 2020, sees the Together Trust reach the grand old age of 150. The ‘Night Refuge for Homeless Boys’ was opened on the 4th January 1870 at Number 16, Quay Street. On that first night, 10 lads presented themselves for admission:

As we hit 2019, the Together Trust once again finds itself on the brink of yet another birthday. This is its last one before the big 150 in January next year. Like many of us, teetering on the edge of a decade, we gaze back in wonder at how quickly the years have passed and what has been achieved in the last decade.  Our earliest photograph taken 1873

Somehow we find ourselves in 2017 and celebrating yet another birthday for the Together Trust. The 4 th of January saw us reach the grand old age of 147. In three years time we’ll hit 150 years and plans are already afoot to honour this momentous occasion. So let’s go back to the year it all began and explore Manchester as it used to be. PH.4.2.21 Boys on Steps

Somehow we find ourselves in 2015. I was reminded yesterday on Twitter (quite ashamedly) that the charity had turned 145 years old. England has changed a great deal in those 145 years but unfortunately not quite enough for the Together Trust to no longer be needed. It seems apt today to have a look at how the Refuge was viewed back in 1870 when it first began and how it fulfilled a need, long felt in Manchester, of providing a home and temporary employment for the destitute lads of the city.  First Home, Quay Street

We hope all our readers had a fantastic Christmas! In the Central Refuge Yard, 1890 As always, as we welcome in the New Year, the Together Trust celebrates another 12 months of helping people break through barriers. The beginning of January is always a special time of the year for the charity as it takes pride in its long illustrious history and celebrates another birthday. Today we reach the grand old age of 143! I thought we’d celebrate this wondrous event with two images taken from one of our older photograph albums. The first was taken in the Refuge Yard on Francis Street, Manchester and shows a group photograph of the Caxton Brigade alongside Mr Shaw , one of the charity's founders.

I realised today that Sunday is a special day - our very own archive blog will be one year old! Twelve whole months have gone by where every week (well... almost!) we have been bringing you the stories, facts and photographs of the Together Trust’s glorious history . The blog has allowed us to bring some of our treasures to a much larger audience and taught us a few things on the way.

  Today, the 4 th Jan 2012, sees the Together Trust celebrate 142 years of providing care and support to children and young people in the North West. The many services that are provided today are a far cry from our first home, which was set up to care for street children, but without our humble beginnings we would never have grown into the diverse charity we are today.