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Manchester United’s second ground at Bank Street, a short distance east of the present-day stadium of Manchester City, was a nightmare. It combined a terrible playing surface with an atmosphere poisoned by nearby chemical works.  To quote: ‘On one occasion during the 1894-95 season, Walsall Town Swifts turned up at the ground and were greeted…

Many guests to the city are crazy about the music history. If they want mad range of music stories then the Free Trade Hall (now the Edwardian Hotel) and its neighbour, the Theatre Royal are good value. The Free Trade Hall was the only building of its time in the UK named after a principle.…

There’s a small creature in Manchester Museum that is one of the best examples of Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection. This is the peppered moth. To quote: ‘In the early 19th century, the peppered moth was known to most naturalists, including Charles Darwin, as a predominantly white-winged moth liberally speckled with black. ‘Then…

The late Dr Michael Powell, the much missed former head librarian at Chetham’s Library, used to love to surprise my guests when I took them on tours around the building. He didn’t jump out and shout boo whilst wearing a comedic mask, no, he used the extraordinary resources of the library. One example which always…

I was wandering around Manchester General Cemetery the other week. This is in Harpurhey, a couple of miles north of the city centre. There’s something very evocative about the place.  On the little hill, above the steep drop to the River Irk valley, the tombs clump and gather like a mini-Mancunian Highgate Cemetery.  Something major…

Central Manchester sports Minshull Street, Aytoun Street and both cross or meet Major Street which also crosses Chorlton Street. The latter does not refer to Chorlton-cum-Hardy but Chorlton on Medlock, the area immediately south of the River Medlock.  Chorlton on Medlock used to sport a grand half-timbered mansion called Chorlton Hall. This was the home…