Together Trust Archive

 While the initial aim of the Charity on its inception in 1870 was to provide safe accommodation and food to orphan boys who didn’t have these essentials, it wasn’t long before the Charity started to broaden their aims. One of the first ways it did so was to provide boys with a means of employment by establishing a Shoeblack Brigade and a Messenger Brigade. These Brigades were in operation by February 1870, only a month after the Charity’s first refuge accommodation was opened on Quay Street, Manchester. Shoeblack brigades were already well established in London, and with the permission of the authorities in Manchester boys in this Brigade dressed in scarlet tunics could occupy positions in twelve stands around the city and earn money by cleaning the shoes and boots of the city’s residents. The railway had come to Manchester in 1830 and with the population of the city ever expanding the Charity spotted another opportunity with the establishment of their Messenger Brigade. This ...

This rather lovely photograph below shows one of our boys, Charles, dressed in the uniform of the charity’s Newspaper Brigade. The group was formed ‘for the purpose of counteracting the pernicious influence of bad books by the introduction of pure literature, in a cheap and an attractive form, into the homes of the people’ ( The Quiver : an illustrated magazine for Sunday and general reading [1894]). Charles in uniform   Those admitted to the Brigade were not usually resident in one of the charity’s homes. On application, a form was completed to determine place of birth, position of family, the education standard passed, and whether "he has been used to selling papers”. Once admitted, conduct was closely watched, parents, or guardians, visited periodically and a report of behaviour and the condition of home was completed. When the boys were old enough, the Committee undertook to find them regular employment. It will be noted that the service was strictly for boys, the R...

In 1888 a set of buildings were purchased on Great Ducie Street, near to the main Central Refuge on Francis Street. These were originally held under lease from the Lord Ducie estate, until ambitious construction works commissioned by the Refuge to replace the old buildings were completed in 1890. Artist's impression of the 1890 building

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.