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 ...

The 4th January is always a special date in the Together Trust calendar. It signifies another birthday, in this case 146 years since the charity was founded. Of course the charity has changed in those 146 years. It has had to, to allow it to continue caring for young people, as well as families and adults who need our support. But a birthday gives us time to reflect on our past, and appreciate the work carried out before us. So let’s have a look at the very first boy who entered into our home.  First Home on Quay Street