Together Trust Archive

Are you interested in finding out how and where the Together Trust started? Also looking to get some exercise? As part of our National Lottery Heritage Fund project we welcome you to sign up to our virtual tour to explore our 150-year-long history across Manchester, Salford, and Cheadle while staying healthy and active.

From 1 February until 24 May 2020 the Together Trust is taking over (a small corner of) The Lowry at Salford Quays! The  150 Artists  exhibition is result of an inspiring project which has seen young people currently supported by the Together Trust delve into the charity's archive to interpret, celebrate, and reflect on the charity and what it means to them, through artwork and other forms of media. The young people who created the content for this exhibition collaborated with 14 artists who were co-commissioned by people supported at our Newbridge service. Funded by Arts Council England, the project has also enabled seven trainee artists to enhance their skills and experience throughout the project. Be sure to check out the amazing artwork, as well as a brief, yet insightful, look into the charity's Manchester and Salford based services of old, at the Circle Bar at  The Lowry , Pier 8, The Quays, Salford, M50 3AZ. Here's a peek at the archive d...

Our Young Roots project, Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces is currently going full steam ahead. Over the last few months the young people involved have been partaking in various sessions to create a greater understanding of Manchester and Salford in the late 1800s and see how the cities approached childcare. It is area which is perhaps underrepresented in the research arena, especially in regards to what the voluntary organisations did. As mentioned before in these blogs the importance of caring for and maintaining charity archives to enrich our understanding of social welfare is imperative. We are hoping the project will incite more interest in the charity’s roots.  Documents from the archive

The Together Trust has a a series of books in its archive designed to promote the workings of the charity to the Manchester and Salford community. Originally seen in a section of a magazine written by the charity as an offshoot to its committee's Christian missionary interests, known as The Christian Worker, it expanded into a magazine wholly dedicated to the charity from 1895 when it became  The Children’s Haven.  The latter aimed to disseminate news of the charity, encourage donations and advertise events and meetings to the public.  Children’s page from The Christian Worker

Thousands of children lived in extreme poverty in Manchester and Salford during the nineteenth century. In the days before the welfare state there were few systems in place to provide aid to those who were unable to work. For parents with young children and families to raise, life could be incredibly tough. So what were the options available to those living on the breadline?  Manchester Street Lads

On Sunday 6th October Inscape House opened its doors to former pupils and staff to celebrate the school’s 20th anniversary. This had been preceded on Friday by the grand opening of its newly built extension. The outcome was a lot of laughter, catching up with old friends and plenty of cake! It seems apt after a weekend of celebration to look a bit more closely at the last 20 years of the school. It has been an interesting one! Inscape Birthday Cake

“It caused us a great deal of distress to give up the name by which we had been known for ninety years, but time does bring change and change has had to be gone through.” - Anonymous, A Potted History of the BGWS (c.1977). Since the charity’s beginnings in 1870 it has been known under three different names. All chosen to reflect the work carried out by the organisation, they also reveal how the charity has changed. So what is in a name?   (1870 to 1960) Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Homes

We’ve been playing in the archive again! This time I took two of the Charity’s Design Team to have a look at a few of the treasures within our collection (it was definitely for their benefit and not just because I wanted them to take some lovely photographs for use in this blog!). It also gave me the opportunity to have a closer look at some of our photograph books and select some powerful images not previously seen by the Together Trust. You lucky people will be the first to view these photographs over the next few weeks. John G. ‘posing’ for the camera