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How to survive a zombie apocalypse
The spread of viruses, microbiology, local history, archives and zombies… Just another day in Archives+. On Wednesday Professor Joanna Verran and Matthew Crossley from Manchester Metropolitan...
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Jelly d’Aranyi
A couple of weeks ago, I sat down at the North West Film Archive pods looking for some inspiration. The first thing I watched was a clip, about a minute and a half long, of a woman called Jelly...
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Blueprints of a city – Manchester’s architectural plans
Are you a fan of Modernist, Art Deco, Edwardian or Victorian architecture? Have you ever wondered about Manchester’s architecture and wanted to get your hands on original building plans? We’ve got good...
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Manchester and the struggle for African independence
Looking through the photographs held at the Central Library I came across a truly interesting image. From the 15th to the 21st October 1945 Manchester played host to an event, largely ignored at the...
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Christmas Day at the Chorlton Union Workhouse
‘The adults received on this day a breakfast of tea and bread and butter and dinner of roast beef and potatoes followed by plum pudding. Men above thirsty years of age received a small allowance of...
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Collyhurst at Christmas
Reflections of Christmas time in the 1920s, taken from ‘Collyhurst Then’ compiled by Mary Turner. ‘Going back to family reunions, every Christmas Day all our relations used to go to Aunt Jennie’s and...
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It’s Panto Season
Memories of the Queens Park Hippodrome in the 1920s and 1930s. Then came December, the pantomimes at Queens Park Hipp on Turkey Lane. We always booked seats for the front row circle. We applauded the...
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Christmas time during The Manchester Blitz
Manchester and surrounding areas became the target for German Luftwaffe attacks on December 22nd and 23rd 1940. Here are the memories of some of those who were there: ‘The sirens sounded at 5.30 that...
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Christmas Gifts for the Poor and Needy
Wood Street Mission, 1902. ‘It is pleasing to know that amid the rejoicing which have marked the advent of the Christmas holidays the children of the poor have not been forgotten. At various charitable...
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Christmas Memories
Christmas ,1913 ‘We had been out on Chrismas Eve to Smithfield market to buy a wreath for Aunty Betsy’s grave. The ‘pot’ man was busy trying to persuade you to believe your Christmas dinner would taste...
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New Year, New Website
(image from NWFA 6163 [NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY]. Producer: Arthur Laycock, 1965) Happy New Year from the North West Film Archive! It’s out with the old and in with the new for the Film Archive’s...
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A new poem for the new year
I’ve been wanting to use the microfilm records of the Manchester Evening News since I started my residency at Archives+. Nothing underlined the difference between Manchester and the town I’d moved from...
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Archives+ 2014 in Review
2014 was a huge year for the Archives+ team. Central Library reopened to the public after its refurbishment and our Archives+ exhibition was launched. Here are a few of the highlights from our year....
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The Prestwich Asylum
Prestwich Asylum was opened in January 1851, and had become one of the largest of it’s kind in Europe by 1900. It was extended in order to increase the capacity: ‘The Annex’ created space for an extra...
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Pubs of Manchester
This lovely little collection of 250 photographs was deposited by David Lewis of the Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society. The photos were taken in the 1960s and 1970s by a friend of...
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Churchill and Manchester
This January marked fifty years since the death of Sir Winston Churchill and the grand state funeral which was held in his honour on 30th January 1965. Searching through the archives held at the...
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Umbrella Doodles
On Friday 13th, citizens of Manchester joined artist Sarah Marsh for ‘Umbrella Doodles’, a free event where people were taken on a walk up Oxford Road. Everyone was given a clear plastic umbrella that...
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The Interpretation of Dreams
The Interpretation of Dreams was written by Artemidorus Daldianus, a diviner based in Roman Asia (now modern day Turkey) in the 2nd Century. This copy was printed in 1710 in England and is part of the...
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The Siege of Manchester
In the year we celebrate the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, I thought it would be a good opportunity to explore the role Manchester played in another landmark constitutional event in British...
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New HOME for Library Theatre Company
One of the most anticipated events of Manchester’s 2015 calendar is almost here. The former Library Theatre Company are getting ready to open their first show in their new home, cunningly called HOME....
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