Together Trust Archive

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...

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

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

It’s been a very busy time at the Together Trust Archives over the last few months. Consequently our blog has been sadly neglected but it’s time to remedy that and let you know what we’ve been up to. Over the next few weeks we’ll be blogging about our Heritage Lottery funded Young Roots project – ‘Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces ’ and show some of the activities we’ve been involved in since the project began in January. It’s been a really exciting and revealing time for some of our pupils as they start to delve into the history of the Together Trust . Private Trust performance, November 2014

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

Taken from the Children’s Haven, 1898:   December 1898

Over the last twelve months we’ve written several blogs on the Refuge’s involvement in World War One and how it was a ffected, both through the boys that fought for their country and the financial restrictions at home. With 2014 marking 100 years since the outbreak of the War, it has been important to mark the sacrifices made by the charity. However it is not the only war that our Refuge boys have fought in.  Extract from the Children’s Haven, 1900

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