Together Trust Archive

With a milestone in the history of the Together Trust and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic coinciding in 2020, plans to celebrate our 150th anniversary suffered many setbacks. Whilst we were able to move some of our events online, others have been postponed indefinitely.

As promised we return to share our Explore Your Archive tweets for the year so far , so you can explore our archive.

It is our delight to announce the release of The Ever Open Door:  150 Years of the Together Trust. Andrew Simpson , Chorlton-based local historian, has delved into the charity's vast archive to bring together the history of the Together Trust. The book covers all aspects of the charity's work and services  –  from emigration and summer camps, to our Bethesda service and Inscape House School. The cover boasts the work of Liz Ackerley Art , who we were proud to commission to create this striking reinterpretation of the  Children's Shelter , breathing new life into one of our former homes. From the bleak Victorian streets of Manchester, whence Leonard Kilbee Shaw and Richard Bramwell Taylor were moved to open a 'Night Refuge for Homeless Boys', to the bright and brilliant Bridge College, this is a story of life changing proportion. Buy your copy now for £14.99 plus postage and packaging. For those who hold a Manchester Library card, w...

For those who read Andrew Simpson's blog dedicated to the history of Chorlton (and more!), you may already know that in celebration of the Together Trust's 150th year we are publishing a book on the history of the charity in 2020. We have worked closely with Andrew who has produced a fascinating read which delves into the history of the Together Trust, a charity whose unwavering dedication to improving the lives of young people is celebrated in this work. Andrew has consulted our vast and unique archive to tell the stories of some of the young people who in the early days of the charity found themselves destitute on the city's streets; following some of them on their journeys to Canada, and mapping the changes in child welfare in the process. The Parcel Brigade outside the Children's Shelter (c. 1915) - one of the images that inspired the cover illustration.

In 1921, in celebration of the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Homes jubilee, a new book was published. Written by William Edmondson, Secretary of the charity between 1894 and 1920, it told the story of the first 50 years of the Refuges. It is the only published history of the charity and concentrates on individual stories, attempting to provoke sympathy in the reader and encourage donations or aid. For those interested in the charity’s Victorian work, it offers an introduction to the services, key staff and stories of the children who lived in the homes. Making Rough Places Plain, 1920