Together Trust Archive

In the early days of the charity’s formation, the committee helped mainly older boys. It i s likely they were the most visible and mo re likely to be seen sleeping out on the city streets. Looking at the first admission book all boys admitted were aged between 10 and 16. At that time of life the charity deemed boys who had been brought up on the street not easy to manage and a decision was made to take them younger, to try and have a more positive influence. This resulted, in 1875, with the creation of the first O rphan H ome. Originally on Johnson Street, these catered for younger children and were much smaller in size th a n the main Central Refuge on Franc is S t reet.  Orphan’s Homes, George Street, 1904

Today is the 100th Anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Somme . Lasting over four months and claiming thousands of lives, it was the largest conflict on the Western Front during World War One. Like many other organisations the bloody battle affected the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Homes. There were a reported 19,240 British men killed on the first day alone. Albert was one of those men. In memory of all those who died during the battle, we tell his story. 

With only a week left to go until our first live performance of our Heritage Lottery Funded Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces , we thought we’d tell a few more stories about the orphans taking centre stage on Tuesday 7th June.  Lily, Sophia, Richard and Joseph

We’re s lowly approaching our big performance at Manchester Histories Festival on the 7th June. L ast week we told you all about the audio script, which we’ve recorded as part of the performance. This tells the story of Susannah , a girl who was admitted into the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Homes and was subsequently emigrated to Canada. The young people want to give you more than just an educational story however. Further skills have been developed in song writing and costume making alongside the main recording. Two songs have been created for the piece, one describing the sea journey made from Liverpool to Canada, and the other concentrating on education in Manchester in the late ninet eenth century. Composing sea shanties

Our Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces project is now in full swing. As highlighted in last week’s blog the research collated by the young people is now being put to good use in their radio script, telling the tale of Susannah, a young girl admitted to the homes of the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Homes in the late nineteenth century. Susannah

“I’m Richard, 11 years old. I was in Salford Workhouse until my Mum got a job as a servant. I hope she manages to keep it with the amount she drinks. Would you like a game of cup and ball?” Richard, aged 11 We would like to introduce you to Richard. This is one of the lives we have been investigating during our young roots project ‘Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces’ . The quote above introduces our audience to this orphan, as he meets a new admission to the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Homes. Throughout the radio script the young people involved in this project will tell the stories of their orphans, written through their own research into the individual children. It is their way of bringing these orphans' tales to life. Richard for example entered the homes in 1899 at the age of 11. His father had passed away and consequently the family had ended up in Salford Workhouse . His Mother had eventually managed to get a job as a domestic but could only take it...

As promised, this week’s blog will be concentrating on our young roots project ‘Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces’ , bringing our readers up to date with some of the work that has been completed so far. The project is based around the history of the Together Trust, concentrating particularly on the charity’s Victorian roots. Young people receiving services from the Together Trust today have been learning about these children from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s, with the aim of bringing their stories to life.  One of the orphans stories to be researched

Last week we looked at the different types of boys that were admitted to the Strangeway Homes at the turn of the century. This week we turn to the set of homes at Cheetham Hill to give a breakdown of the type of girls that found their way into the charity’s care. Elder girls in the laundry at Rosen Hallas

With the 100 year anniversary of the start of the Gallipoli Campaign coming up on Saturday it seemed apt to have a look at this famous campaign and its links with the Manchester Refuges. The Campaign intended to secure the Gallipoli peninsula, a strait which provided a sea route to the Russian Empire. A naval attack was launched with the aim of capturing the Ottoman capital of Constantinople . This was eventually repelled and after eight months of fighting, with many casualties on both sides, the land campaign was abandoned and the invasion force was withdrawn to Egypt. Marines

On such a beautiful Manchester day what could be more wonderful to blog about than its stunning churches and surrounding landscape. That’s right today’s blog is all about graveyards... Leonard Shaw’s Grave stone, St Paul’s Church, Kersal Moor  

'When the stones under his bare feet are frozen he is sent out to wander, to plead, to pester, to get thrust out of the way and cursed by some, to get for his match-box the penny for which all the joy and health of his childhood are being sold' - Reverend Benjamin Waugh , Contemporary Review, July 1888.  Between 1885 and 1894 the Manchester Refuges operated a branch of work called the Manchester and Salford Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children . It was a predecessor to the NSPCC investigating and prosecuting neglectful or abusive parents in the courts. The establishment of a Manchester branch by the NSPCC in 1894 brought an end to this work, but not before 9,922 children had been assisted. After 1894 the charity had a close working relationship with the NSPCC and the admission books continued to tell stories of children whose parents were prosecuted by the courts.  Letterhead for branch

We told a story all the way back in 2011 about twelve lads who set sail from our orphans homes across to Northfield in Massachusetts under the guardianship of the well known preacher Dwight Lyman Moody . The recent digitisation of our orphan home books by Borthwick Archives , at the end of last year, has revealed more information about the younger children who entered our homes, including the individual circumstances of the Moody party. 

We had a little trip to York last week. Lovely though the city is however, our adventure did not take in the sights of the Cathedral, a trip through the Yorvik Centre or a walk around the city walls. Instead it took us to York University, and more specifically to the Borthwick Archives , in order to deposit a number of our precious books. One of the History Books ready for digitisation

One hundred years ago today on the 4th August 1914, England declared war on Germany , subsequently becoming a major player in what became known as World War One. Over 400 men associated with the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Homes fought in the War. The charity has now produced a roll of honour on its website to commemorate these men.  The Together Trust Roll of Honor, 1914-1918

We recently had a request from a genealogist looking for an ancestor that was living at a house on Tetlow Lane , Broughton in the 1901 census. Tetlow Grove House, Tetlow Lane

I thought I’d talk this week about some leading figures in nineteenth century England who had an interest in the work of the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Homes. Today we turn to Anthony Ashley Cooper , 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician, philanthropist and social reformer. Lord Shaftesbury, 1801-1885

"£10 a year or 17 shillings per month will support or educate an orphan or homeless boy." - The Manchester Times, 1876 Adverts were often placed in the local papers asking for money to set up a new service to help Manchester’s waifs and strays. It was an imperative means of communication. Up until the introduction of the new welfare state in the 1940s the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Homes had to rely purely on charitable donations from the public. In its early days the charity was opening a new service or home almost every year. This could only be done thanks to the many wonderful contributions from a city who wanted to help its younger inhabitants. Advert appealing for funds, c.1906 (PH/4/16)

To please our American readers we are setting sail across the sea to land in Massachusetts, to reveal a story involving the famous American evangelist, Dwight Lyman Moody , 12 orphan boys from Manchester and a brave child’s fight to save his pal. The Refuge   had been partaking in the emigration of some of Manchester’s orphan children since 1872, across to the spacious, clean lands in Ontario, Canada. Here they would live with the local farmers, working the land if they were boys or helping out in domestic duties if girls.