Manchester Information

Manchester began in the Castlefield area, where the Romans moved to in 79AD and lived for 400 years. During Medieval times, Castlefield became a deer park, and the city grew around the Cathedral area. The Industrial Revolution in the mid-1700s saw Castlefield becoming industrialised again, and industry grew rapidly during these times, especially after the opening of the Bridgewater Canal in 1761, which enabled coal to be brought into the city to heat the mills.

The construction of the Manchester Ship Canal contributed to making Manchester a major world port and trading centre. It became an extremely wealthy city, with many rich merchants who showed off their success by building some palatial warehouses, many of which can still be seen today, often converted to beautiful hotels, homes and offices.
The Town Hall is one of these impressive buildings. It was designed by Alfred Waterhouse and completed in 1877. Today this imposing neo-Gothic building houses a display of murals by the pre-Raphaelite artist, Ford Madox Brown.

Famous citizens of Manchester through the ages include Charles Dickens, Mrs Gaskell and Howard Spring. It was at the forefront of the social, educational, political and arts movements.
There are lots of attractions to see. The Museum of Science and Industry tells all about the city's industrial and architectural heritage. The building dates from 1830, and was the eastern terminus of the Liverpool-Manchester railway and the world's first passenger railway station. Manchester Transport Museum is dedicated to the preservation of public road transport, and has over 80 historic vehicles representing over 100 years of public road transport, including horse-drawn vehicles, trams and buses.
The Pankhurst tells the story of Emmeline Pankhurst, the Suffragettes and their fight for equal rights for women.

The City Art Gallery houses a wonderful collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings. The People's History Museum is dedicated to the ordinary working people of Britain. And the Gallery of Costume has thousands of items of costume and accessories from the 17th century to today.
There are many art galleries in the city. Manchester Art Gallery is the largest, housed in a Greek-style building which was designed in 1825 by Sir Charles Barry. Its collections of paintings includes works by Stubbs, Turner, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Rossetti, Henry Moore, Francis Bacon and David Hockney.

Shopping is great in Manchester, and there are many restaurants, bars and pubs. You can also take the tour of Granada Studios, where some famous TV programmes are made, including Coronation Street. Football plays a big part in the city's life, home as it is to one of the world's most famous teams, Manchester United, and there are lots of opportunities for you to do some exercise, including ice skating and go-karting.

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