Ancoats

The village of Ancoats lies to the east of Manchester and it is steeped in history. It is believed that its name means ?Lonely Huts? and in 1212 it was known as ?Einecot?. It covers the area of land that roughly lies between the river Medlock and river Irk and the Ashton Canal and the Rochdale Canal run through it.

Related Topics:
Manchester - Ashton Canal - Rochdale Canal

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The industrial development of Ancoats began towards the end of the 18th century when steam power was first used to power mills and factories. The earliest mills of this period of the Industrial Revolution were Murray?s Mills, which were established on Union Street (now Redhill Street) off Great Ancoats Street, by Adam and George Murray in 1798. Conveniently, these mills were alongside the Rochdale Canal, which was used to deliver raw cotton. Later, they became known as Ancoats Mills when they were operated by McConnel & Company Ltd. Other large mills in Ancoats included, Victoria Mills, Wellington Mill, Brunswick Mill, India Mills, Phoenix Mill, Lloydsfield Mill and Sedgewick Mill.

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From then onwards, Ancoats grew rapidly to become an important industrial centre and as a result of this it also became a densely populated area. Streets of back-to-back houses and court dwellings were rapidly built and for the poorest members of the community there were cellar dwellings.

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Cotton was not the only industry in the locality, as foundries and engineering factories were required to produce the machinery needed by the mills. The largest of these were those operated by the brothers, John Muir Hetherington and Thomas Ridley Hetherington, which was established in 1830. Eventually the company became known as John Hetherington and Sons Ltd and the principal factory was at Vulcan Works on Pollard Street. The company was also the proprietor of Curtis, Sons & Company, which was established in 1804 and this was at Phoenix Works, which was on both sides of Chapel Street (now Chapeltown Street). On one side of the street there was a brass and iron works and on the other side there was a machinery factory. Hetherington?s produced a huge range of machinery for the textile industry that included machinery for opening, preparing, spinning and doubling cotton, cotton waste, wool and worsted. Their speciality was a machine called a Combined Opener and Scutcher that was very effective in the cleaning of most types of cotton without damaging the staple or losing serviceable fibre.

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Ancoats also manufactured aircraft and this factory was at Brownsfield Mill, which was on the corner of Great Ancoats Street and Binns Place at the point where the Rochdale Canal passes below Great Ancoats Street. Here, A V Roe (Avro) established his factory shortly before 1915. Men from Ancoats serving in the Army in France during the Great War were aware that aeroplanes they saw in action above them had been made in Ancoats.

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At the top of Stony Brow (later Junction Street and now Jutland Street) there was the multi-storey drysalters factory of Thomas Hassall. It was said that this was the only drysalters in England and it supplied rock salt, moss litter and all kinds of other things. There were also chemical works (especially alum), floor-cloth works and finishing and calendering works that rolled cloth to smooth or glaze it.

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Possibly the least known, but vitally important, industry in Ancoats was the manufacture of flint glass. More than 25 glassworks have been identified in Manchester, all built during the 19th century, and many of these were in Ancoats.

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Thomas Percival and William Yates established one of these on Union Street (now Redhill Street) in 1844. The works was equipped with two furnaces (later three), an annealing house, workshops, a warehouse and offices. In 1852, Thomas Vickers joined the company and William Yates left in 1862. After this, the company became known as Percival Vickers British and Foreign Flint Glass Works. It made a large range of glassware that included tumblers, wine glasses, decanters, vases, celery vases, salts and cake stands.

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During the 19th century, due to political and economic circumstances, many Italians left Italy for a more secure life. In particular, they left southern Italy, Lazio and Campagna, and some of these settled in Ancoats. Over the next hundred years they created what became known as ?Ancoats Little Italy?. They boosted the local economy, pioneered the British ice cream industry, joined in the annual Catholic Whit Walks and survived the difficulties of the Second World War.

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The Salvation Army had a presence in Ancoats, with the Star Hall and Crossley Hospital in Pollard Street. Crossley Court, flats belonging to the Salvation Army Housing Association, now stands on the site.

Related Topics:
Salvation Army - Star Hall - Crossley Hospital

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