Public Buildings
The Royal Infirmary, founded in 1752, having become inadequate for its purposes, a ,new building has been erected on the south side of the city near the university, from designs by Edwin T. Hall and John Brooke; it was opened in 1909 by king Edward VII. The central site in Piccadilly thus became available for other purposes, and the corporation gave instructions for plans to be made for a new library and art architecture a form of Gothic, but treated it very freely as purposes of utility required. The edifice covers 8000 sq. yds., and includes more than two hundred and fifty rooms. The building consists of continuous lines of corridors surrounding a central courtyard and connected by bridges. The principal tower is 286 ft. high to the top of the ball, and affords a view which extends over a large part of south Lancashire and Cheshire and is bounded only by the hills of Derbyshire. The tower contains a remarkable peal of bells by Taylor of Loughborough, forming an almost perfect chromatic scale of twenty-one bells; each bell has on it a line from canto 105 of Tennyson's In Memoriam. The great hall is 100 ft. long and 50 ft. wide, and contains a magnificent organ built by Cavaille-Coll of Paris. The twelve panels of this room are filled with paintings Xvii. 18 C?
i?CyI??R?,E ? I ?F???, 1 by Ford Madox Brown, illustrating the history and progress of the city. The royal exchange is a fine specimen of Italian architecture and was erected in 1869; the great meeting-hall is one of the largest rooms in England, the ceiling having a clear area, without supports, of 120 ft. in width. The exchange is seen at its best on market days (Tuesday and Friday). The assize courts were built in 1864 from designs by Waterhouse. The style is a mixture of Early English and Decorative, and a large amount of decorative art has been expended on the building. The branch Bank of England is a Doric building designed by C. R. Cockerell. There are separate town-halls for the townships of Ardwick, Chorlton, Hulme, Cheetham, Broughton and Pendleton. The Free Trade hall is a fine structure in the Lombardo-Venetian style, and its great hall will accommodate about five thousand people. It is used for public meetings, concerts, &c., and was built by Edward Walters. The Athenaeum, designed by Barry, was founded by Richard Cobden and others associated with him for "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge." The institution has, perhaps, not developed exactly on the lines contemplated by its promoters, but it has been very useful. The advantages enjoyed by members of social clubs, with the addition of facilities for educational classes and the use of an excellent newsroom and a well-selected library, are offered in return for a payment which does not amount to a penny a day. The mechanics' institution has developed into the school of Technology, which now forms a part of the university. The Portico is a good specimen of the older proprietary libraries and newsrooms. It dates from 1806, and has a library. The Memorial Hall was built to commemorate the memory of the ejected ministers of 1662; it is used for meetings, scientific, educational, musical and religious. The Whitworth Institute is governed by a corporate body originating from the liberal bequests of Sir Joseph Whitworth. The Institute contains a valuable collection of works of art and stands in the centre of a woodland park. In the park, which has been transferred to the corporation, is a sculpture group of "Christ and the Children," executed by George Tinworth from the designs of R. D. Darbishire, by whom it was presented. The assize courts, built from designs by Waterhouse (1864), the post office (1887), and the police courts (1871) should also be named. Many fine structures suffer from being hemmed in by streets which prevent the proportions from being seen to advantage.
Education
T here are many educational facilities. The oldest institution is the grammar school, which was founded in 1519 by Hugh Oldham, bishop of Exeter, a native of the town. The master and usher appointed by the bishop were to teach freely every child and scholar coming to the school, "without any money or reward taken"; and the bishop forbade the appointment of any member of the religious orders as head master. Some corn mills were devised for the. maintenance of the school, which was further endowed at both the universities by Sarah, duchess of Somerset, in 1692. The school has now two hundred and fifty free scholars, whilst other pupils are received on payment of fees. Among those educated at the grammar school were Thomas De Quincey, Harrison Ainsworth and Samuel Bamford the Radical. After the grammar school the oldest educational foundation is that of Humphrey Chetham, whose bluecoat school, founded in 1653, is housed in the building formerly occupied by the college of clergy. This also contains the public library founded by Chetham, and is the most interesting relic of antiquity in the city. The educational charity of William Hulme (1631-1691) is administered under a scheme drawn up in 1881. Its income is nearly ro,000 a year, and it supports a grammar school and aids education in other ways. There are three high schools for girls. The Nicholls hospital was founded in 1881 for the education of orphan boys. Manchester was one of the first places to adopt the powers given by Forster's Act of 1870, and on the abolition of school boards the educational supervision was transferred to a committee of the corporation strengthened by co-opted members. In addition to the elementary schools, the municipality provides a large and well-equipped school of technology, and a school of art to which is attached an arts and crafts museum. There are a pupil teachers' college, a school of domestic economy, special schools for feeble-minded children, and a Royal College of Music. The schools for the deaf and dumb are situated at Old Trafford, in a contiguous building of the same Gothic design as the blind asylum, to which Thomas Henshaw left a bequest of X20,000. There is also an adult deaf and dumb institution, containing a news-room, lecture hall, chapel, &c., for the use of deaf mutes.
The Victoria University of Manchester has developed from the college founded by John Owens, who in 1846 bequeathed nearly £ioo,000 to trustees for an institution in which should be taught "such branches of learning and science as were then or might be hereafter usually taught in English universities." It was opened in 1851 in a house which had formerly been the residence of Cobden. In 1872 a new college building was erected on the south side of the town from designs by Waterhouse. In 1880 a university charter was granted, excluding the faculties of theology and medicine, and providing for the incorporation of University College, Liverpool, and the College of Science, Leeds. The federal institution thus created lasted until 1903, when the desire of Liverpool for a separate university of its own led to a reconstruction. Manchester University consists of one college - Owens College - in its greatly enlarged form. The buildings include the Whitworth Hall (the gift of the legatees of Sir Joseph Whitworth), the Manchester Museum and the Christie Library, which is a building for the university library given by R. C. Christie, who also bequeathed his own collection. Dr Lee, the first bishop of Manchester, left his library to Owens College, and the legatees of Sir Joseph Whitworth bought and presented E. A. Freeman's books. The library has received other important special collections. The benefactions to the university of Thomas Ashton are estimated at X80,000. There are in Manchester a number of denominational colleges, Wesleyan, Primitive Methodist, Unitarian, Baptist, &c., and many of the students preparing for the ministry receive their arts training at the university, the theological degrees of which are open to students irrespective of creed.
Libraries, Museums and Societies. - Manchester is well provided with libraries. The Chetham library, already named, contains some rare manuscripts, the gem of the collection being a copy of the historical compilation of Matthew Paris, with corrections in the author's handwriting. There is a large collection of matter relating to the history and archaeology of Lancashire and Cheshire, including the transcripts of Lancashire MSS. bequeathed by Canon F. R. Raines. The collections of broadsides formed by Mr J. O. HalliwellPhillipps, and the library of John Byrom, rich in mystics and shorthand writers, should also be named. The Manchester Free Libraries were founded by Sir John Potter in 1852. There is now a reference library containing about 170,000 volumes, including an extensive series of English historical works, a remarkable collection of books of political economy and trade, and special collections relating to local history, Dr Thomas Fuller, shorthand and the gipsies. The Henry Watson Music Library, and the Thomas Greenwood Library for librarians were presented to the reference library, and the Foreign Library was purchased. Affiliated to the reference library there are nineteen libraries, each of which includes a lending department and reading rooms. The municipal libraries contain in the aggregate over 366,000 vols. There are also libraries in connexion with the Athen - aeum, the School of Technology, the Portico, and many other in - stitutions. The most remarkable of the Manchester libraries is that founded by Mrs Enriqueta Rylands, and named the John Rylands Library in memory of her husband. The beautiful building was designed by Basil Champneys; the library includes the famous Althorp collection, which was bought from Earl Spencer. Mrs Rylands died in 1908, and by her will increased the endowment of the library so that it has an income of £1 3,000 yearly. She also bequeathed her own library.
Manchester possesses numerous literary and scientific associations. The oldest of these, the Literary and Philosophical Society, founded in 1781, has a high reputation, and has numbered among its work - ing members John Dalton, Eaton Hodgkinson, William Fairbairn, J. P. Joule, H. E. Roscoe and many other famous men of science. It has published a series of memoirs and proceedings. The Manchester Statistical Society was the first society of the kind established in the kingdom, and has issued Transactions containing many important papers. The Field Naturalists' and Archaeologists' Society, the Microscopical Society, the Botanists' Association, and the Geological Society may also be named. Manchester is the headquarters of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society and of several printing clubs, the Chetham, the Record, the Lancashire Parish Registers societies. Seven daily papers are published, and various weekly and otherperiodicals. The journalism of Manchester takes high rank, the Manchester Guardian (Liberal) being one of the best news - papers in the country, while the Manchester Courier (Unionist) has an important local influence. The Manchester Quarterly is issued by the Manchester Literary Club, which was founded in 1862. The success of the Art Treasures Exhibition in 1857 was repeated in the Jubilee Exhibition of 1887. The Manchester Academy of Fine Arts is a society of artists, and holds an annual exhibition in the city art gallery.
Population
From a census taken in 1773 it appears that there were then in the township of Manchester and its outtownships 36,267 persons. The first decennial census, 1801, showed the population to be 75,275; in 1851 it was 303,382; in 1901, 606,824. It is not easy to make an exact comparison between different periods, because there have been successive enlargements of the boundaries. The population has overflowed into the surrounding districts, and if all that belongs to the urban area, of which it is the centre, were included, greater Manchester would probably rival London in the number of its inhabitants.
Manufactures and Commerce. - Manchester is the centre of the English cotton industry (for details see Cotton and Cotton MANUFACTURE), but owing to the enhanced value of land many mills and workshops have been removed to the outskirts and to neighbouring villages and towns, so that the centre of Manchester and an ever-widening circle around are now chiefly devoted not so much to production as to the various offices of distribution. It would be a mistake, however, to regard Manchester as solely dependent upon the industries connected with cotton. There are other important manufactures which in another community would be described as gigantic. Wool and silk are manufactured on a considerable scale, though the latter industry has for some years been on the decline. The miscellaneous articles grouped under the designation of small-wares occupy many hands. Machinery and tools are made in vast quantities; the chemical industries of the city are also on a large scale. In short, there are but few important manufactures that are wholly unrepresented. The proximity of Manchester to the rich coal-fields of Lancashire has had a marked influence upon its prosperity; but for this, indeed, the rapid expansion of its industries would have been impossible.
The Manchester Bankers' Clearing House returns show an almost unbroken yearly increase. The amount in 1872 was £72,805,510; in 1907 it was £320,296,332; by the severe depression of 1908 it was reduced to £288,555,307. Another test of prosperity is the increase in rateable value. In 1839 it was £669,994; in 1871, £1,703,627; in 1881, £2,301,225; in 1891, £ 2,798,005; in 1901, £3,394,879; in 1907, £4,191,039; in 1909, £4,234,129.
The commercial institutions of Manchester are too numerous for detailed description; its chamber of commerce has for more than sixty years exercised much influence on the trade of the district and of the nation. Manchester is the headquarters of the Co-operative Wholesale Society, and indeed of the cooperative movement generally.
The most important event in the modern history of the district is the creation of the Manchester Ship Canal (q.v.), by which Manchester and Salford have a direct communication with the sea at Eastham, near Liverpool. The canal was opened for traffic in January 1894. The official opening ceremony was on the 21st of May 1894, when Queen Victoria visited Manchester. The total expenditure on capital account has been £16,567,881. The original share capital of £8,000,000 and £1,812,000, raised by debentures, having been exhausted, the corporation of Manchester advanced on loan a further sum of £5,000,000.
History
Very little is known with certainty of the early history of Manchester.' A Roman station of some importance existed at Castlefield, and a fragment of the wall still exists. Another, perhaps earlier, was at Hunt's Bank. In the 18th century considerable evidences of Roman occupation were still visible; and from time to time, in the course of excavation (especially during the making of the Bridgewater Canal), Roman remains have been found. The coins were chiefly those of Vespasian, Antoninus Pius, Trajan, Hadrian, Nero, Domitian, Vitellius and Constantine. Investigations by the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society and the Classical Association have brought to light many relics, chiefly of pottery. The period succeeding the Roman occupation is for some time legendary. As late as the 17th century there was a tradition that Tarquin, an enemy of King Arthur, kept the castle of Manchester, and was killed by Lancelot of the Lake. The references to the town in authentic annals are very few. It was probably one of the scenes of the missionary preaching of Paulinus; and it is said (though by a chronicler of comparatively late date) to have been the residence of Ina, king of Wessex, and his queen Ethelberga, after he had defeated Ivor, somewhere about the year 689. Almost the only point of certainty in its history before the Conquest is that it suffered greatly from the devastations of the Danes, and that in 923 Edward, who was then at Thelwall, near Warrington, sent a number of his Mercian troops to repair and garrison it. In Domesday Book Manchester, Salford, Rochdale and Radcliffe are the only places named in south-east Lancashire, a district now covered by populous towns. Large portions of it were then forest, wood and waste lands. Twenty-one thanes held the manor or hundred of Salford among them. The church of St Mary and the church of St Michael in Manchester are both named in Domesday, and some difficulty has arisen as to their proper identification. Some antiquaries consider that the passage refers to the town only, whilst others think it relates to the parish, and that, while St Mary's is the present cathedral, St Michael's would be the present parish church of Ashton-under-Lyne. In 1301 Manchester received a charter of manorial liberties and privileges from its baron, Thomas Gresley, a descendant of one to whom the manor had been given by Roger of Poictou, who was created by William the Conqueror lord of all the land between the rivers Mersey and Ribble. The Gresleys were succeeded by the De la Warrs, the last of whom was educated for the priesthood, and became rector of the town. To avoid the evil of a non-resident clergy, he made considerable additions to the lands of the church, in order that it might be endowed as a collegiate institution. A college of clergy was thus formed, whose fellows were bound to perform the necessary services at the parish church, and to whom the old baronial hall was granted as a place of residence. The manorial rights passed to Sir Reginald West, a descendant of 1 In the Antonine Itinerary the name Mancunium or Mamucium is given. This is the origin of the modern name, and has supplied the adjective "Mancunian" (cf."Old Mancunians" applied to old boys of Manchester Grammar School).
Joan Gresley, who was summoned to parliament as Baron de la Warre. The West family, in 1579, sold the manorial rights for 3000 to John Lacy, who, in 1596, resold them to Sir Nicholas Mosley, whose descendants enjoyed the emoluments derived from them until 1845, when they were purchased by the municipality of Manchester for a sum of X200,000. The lord of the manor had the right to tax and toll all articles brought for sale into the market of the town. But, though the inhabitants were thus to a large extent taxed for the benefit of one individual, they had a far greater amount of local selfgovernment than might have been supposed, and the court leet, which was then the governing body of the town, had, though in a rudimentary form, nearly all the powers now possessed by municipal corporations. This court had not only control over the watching and warding of the town, the regulation of the water supply, and the cleaning of the streets, but also had power, which at times was used freely, of interfering with the private liberty of their fellow-citizens. Thus, no single woman was allowed to be a householder; no person might employ other than the town musicians; and the amount to be spent at wedding feasts and other festivities was carefully settled. Under the protection of the barons the town appears to have steadily increased in prosperity, and it early became an important seat of the textile manufactures. Fulling mills were at work in the district in the 13th century; and documentary evidence exists to show that woollen manufactures were carried on in Ancoats at that period. In 1538 Leland described it as "the fairest, best-builded, quickest, and most populous town in Lancashire." The right of sanctuary granted to the town in 1J40 was found so detrimental to its industrial pursuits that after very brief experience the privilege was taken away. The college of Manchester was dissolved in 1547, but was refounded in Mary's reign. Under her successor the town became the headquarters of the commission for establishing the Reformed religion. In 1641 we hear of the Manchester people purchasing linen yarn from the Irish, weaving it, and returning it for sale in a finished state. They also brought cotton wool from Smyrna to work into fustians and dimities. An act passed in the reign of Edward VI. regulates the length of cottons called Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire cottons. These, notwithstanding their name, were probably all woollen textures. It is thought that some of the Flemish weavers who were introduced into England by Queen Philippa of Hainault were settled at Manchester; and Fuller has given an exceedingly quaint and picturesque description of the manner in which these artisans were welcomed by the inhabitants of the country they were about to enrich with a new industry. The Flemish weavers were in all probability reinforced by religious refugees from the Low Countries.
In the civil wars, the town was besieged by the Royalists under Lord Strange (better known as earl of Derby - "the great Stanley"); but was successfully defended by the inhabitants under the command of a German soldier of fortune, Colonel Rosworm, who complained with some bitterness of their ingratitude to him. An earlier affray between the Puritans and some of Lord Strange's followers is said to have occasioned the shedding of the first blood in the struggle between the king and parliament. The year 1694 witnessed the trial of those concerned in the so-called Lancashire plot, which ended in the triumphant acquittal of the supposed Jacobites. That the district really contained many ardent sympathizers with the Stuarts was, however, shown in the rising of 1715, when the clergy ranged themselves to a large extent on the side of the Pretender; and was still more clearly shown in the rebellion of 1745, when the town was occupied by Prince Charles Edward Stuart, and a regiment, known afterwards as the Manchester regiment, was formed and placed under the command of Colonel Francis Townley. In the fatal retreat of the Stuart troops the Manchester contingent was left to garrison Carlisle, and surrendered to the duke of Cumberland. The officers were taken to London, where they were tried for high treason and beheaded on Kennington Common.
The variations of political action in Manchester had been exceedingly marked. In the 16th century, although it produced both Roman Catholic and Protestant martyrs, it was earnestly in favour of the Reformed faith, and in the succeeding century it became indeed a stronghold of Puritanism. Yet the successors of the Roundheads who defeated the army of Charles I. were Jacobite in their sympathies, and by the latter half of the 18th century had become imbued with the aggressive form of patriotic sentiment known as anti-Jacobinism, which showed itself chiefly in dislike of reform and reformers of every description. A change, however, was imminent. The distress caused by war and taxation, towards the end of the 18th and the beginning of the i 9 th century, led to bitter discontent, and the anomalies existing in the parliamentary system of representation afforded only too fair an object of attack. While single individuals in some portions of the country had the power to return members of parliament for their pocket boroughs, great towns like Manchester were entirely without representation. The popular discontent was met by a policy of repression, culminating in the affair of Peterloo, which may be regarded as the starting-point of the modern reform agitation. This was in 1819, when an immense crowd assembled on St Peter's Fields (now covered by the Free Trade Hall and warehouses) to petition parliament for a redress of their grievances. The Riot Act was read by a clerical magistrate; but in such a manner as to be quite unheard by the mass of the people; and drunken yeomanry cavalry were then turned loose upon the unresisting mass of spectators. The yeomanry appear to have used their sabres freely; several people killed and many more injured; and, although the magistrates received the thanks of the prince regent and the ministry, their conduct excited the deepest indignation throughout the entire country. Those who had organized the meeting, incLding "Orator" Hunt with Samuel Bamford and other working men, were imprisoned.
Naturally enough, the Manchester politicians took an important part in the Reform agitation; when the Act of 1832 was passed, the town sent as its representatives the Right Hon. C. P. Thomson, vice-president of the board of trade, and Mark Philips. With one notable exception, this was the first time that Manchester had been represented in parliament since its barons had seats in the House of Peers in the earlier centuries. In 1654 Charles Worsley and R. Radcliffe were nominated to represent it in Cromwell's parliament. Worsley was a man of great ability, and has a place in history as the man who carried out the injunction of the Protector to "remove that bauble," the mace of the House of Commons. The agitation for the repeal of the corn laws had its headquarters at Manchester, and the success which attended it, not less than the active interest taken by its inhabitants in public questions, has made the city the home of other projects of reform. The "United Kingdom Alliance for the Suppression of the Liquor Traffic" was founded there in 1853, and during the continuance of the American War the adherents both of the North and of the South deemed it desirable to have organizations in Manchester to influence public opinion in favour of their respective causes. A charter of incorporation was granted in 1838; a bishop was appointed in 1847; and the town became a city in 1853. The Lancashire cotton famine, caused by the Civil War in America, produced much distress in the Manchester district, and led to a national movement to help the starving operatives. The more recent annals of Manchester are a record of industrial and commercial developments, and of increase in educational opportunities of all kinds. Politically Manchester was Liberal, of one or other shade, under the first Reform Act; a Conservative member was first elected in 1868, and in 1874 two. Under household suffrage in 1885 that party secured five out of six members; in 1886 and 1892, three out of six. In 1895 and 1900 five Unionists were elected, but in 1906 six Liberals were returned, one of whom (Mr Winston Churchill) was defeated at a by-election in 1908. In 1910 three Liberals, two Labour members and one Conservative were elected.
Authorities
Although several excellent books have been written on subjects connected with the town, there is no adequate modern history. The History of Manchester, by the Rev. John Whitaker, appeared in 1771; it is a mere fragment, and, though containing much important matter, requires to be very discreetly used. The following may be recommended: John Reilly, History of Manchester, (1861); R. W. Procter, Manchester in Holiday Dress (1866), Memorials of Manchester Streets (1874), Memorials of Byegone Manchester (1880); Richard Buxton, Botanical Guide to Manchester, &c. (2nd ed., 1859); Leo Grindon, Manchester Flora (1859); Edward Baines, History of Lancashire, edited by Croston (1886-1893), 5 vols.; W. A. Shaw, Manchester, Old and New (1894); W. E. A. Axon, Annals of Manchester (1885), Cobden as a Citizen (1906); Harry Rawson, Historical Record of some Recent Enterprises of the Corporation of Manchester (1894); Official Manual of Manchester and Salford (1909); J. P. Earwaker, Court Leet Records of Manchester, 1552-1686, 1731-1846 (1884-1890), 12 vols.; Constable's Accounts, 1612-1647, 1 7431776 (1891-1892), 3 vols.; Manchester Municipal Code (1894-1899), 5 vols.; George Saintsbury, Manchester (1887); Thomas Swindells, Manchester Streets and Manchester Men (1906-1907), 3 vols.; James Tait, Medieval Manchester (1904); Charles Roeder, Roman Manchester (1900); Sir Bosdin Leech, History of the Manchester Ship Canal (1907), 2 vols. (W. E. A. A.)
Copyright Statement
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Bibliography Information
Chisholm, Hugh, General Editor. Entry for 'Manchester'. 1911 Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/bri/m/manchester.html. 1910.
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