Together Trust Archive

As promised this week heralds the grand unveiling of our much anticipated Heritage Lottery Funded film, ‘A Journey to Canada’. The production was first shown during our two performances of ‘Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces’ to a live audience. We are now able to put the film online, so that those who couldn’t make the performance are able to see the work created by our young people. A Journey to Canada

The sun was s hining yesterday as we descended on Manchester Central Library for our long awaited Heritage Lottery Funded performance of Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces . A part of the fabulous Manchester Histories Festival , it was a privilege to be part of such an important series of events in Manchester’s calendar.  Our orphans on display

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

Over the last few weeks we’ve been bringing you up-to-date with some of the visits we’ve partaken in, in connection with our Young Roots project, ‘ Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces ’. Both Salford Museum and Art Gallery and Merseyside Maritime Museum have been excellent in providing a background context to the project. The information gathered has been integral for the first outcome of the project: a radio script documenting the stories of the children who entered the Manchester Refuge homes and emigrated to Canada. Emigration Party outside Manchester Town Hall, 1897

Last week on our Young Roots update we worked with one of our heritage partners, Salford Museum and Art Gallery , to better understand Salford at the turn of the nineteenth century. This was important for the young people to see what the area would have been like for their orphans, prior to being admitted into one of the Manchester Refuge’s homes. This wasn’t the only city involved in our orphan’s journeys however. As these cases involved children who went across to Canada, we also needed to know about Liverpool. It was from here that the journey across the sea began. I n Liv erpool - Leaving the Port, 1894

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 is excited to be able to announce the start of a new project exploring the history of charity childcare in Victorian Manchester. Thanks to a grant of £38,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, young people within our services today will be able to take part in 'Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces', which will open up the charity’s history to the local community and be yond. Together Trust Documents