Manchester, the heart of evolution and the industrial revolution, including art, business, and cultures. The capital of the North. Although the weather is not very warm and welcoming, the people are!
Anita Street:
When the name ‘Anita’ comes to your mind, I am certain you must be thinking of a feminine Indo-European woman who has done something so admirable and deserves the recognition for something so honourable. Nonetheless, this is not the case for this street.
Anita Street is arguably recognised as one of the backbones of the working class. Formerly known as ‘Sanitary Street’ it is the main reason that the survival of the underpaid was possible.
Known to be a delightful hidden gemstone of Manchester, Anita Street is home to unique pristine terraced houses in the city centre, familiar for its boom in apartments.
These picturesque Victorian houses in Ancoats were not built to look pretty nor to be pristine but to save lives and combat the scandalous 19th century housing crisis which was rumoured to have been fatally out of control. This is still preserved today amongst the rising number of apartments in Ancoats.
In summary, Anita Street highlights poverty and reflects the industrial heritage of Manchester which transformed the lives of many Mancunians and across the globe.
Coronation Street:
Despite this street being far from reality, the backstory of this popular television series is quite interesting and informative. The information supplied here is based on a fictional story.
In 1902, the street was built in honour of King Edward VII. However, if anyone has ever seen the show: ‘The Road to Coronation Street’ they will have discovered the original name of the street was “Florizel Street”.
In 1960 the creator of the show, Tony Warren, titled the scripts with the titular street, named after an owned picture of Prince Florizel. Prince Florizel was the son of the Bohemian King trying to reach Sleeping Beauty, but there was later a difference of opinion whilst choosing the name.
One alleged problem was due to the name being difficult to pronounce in a show that was meant to be broadcasted live.
In addition to this, the co-founder of Granada – Cecil Bernstein – requested the change perhaps because he hated the name. He claimed that Agnes (the tea lady who worked in the studios) said it sounded like a disinfectant brand rather than a name for a TV series.
Tib Street:
Tib Street originally began as a central trading district and shopping district in the 1780s, for a Victorian and post-war Manchester.
In the early 19th century, the street began to enrich itself and develop from trading districts to agricultural areas, retail, and pet shop districts
It has been thought to have been named after one of the ‘lost’ rivers of Manchester, a stream that had connected through the river Medlock, running through Castlefield and Miles Platting in the early 1700’s and which is now Oldham Road, the flooding culverted – running underground.
John Dalton Street:
John Dalton was known for living in the rented rooms of now Chinatown, and in Georgian – St James’ near the demolished church of the same name.
Notoriously being famous for putting Manchester on the ‘map of the modern world,’ scientist John Dalton and his discoveries were what structured the revolution, pioneering our understanding of the weather, and influencing the branch of anatomy. His 19th century finds helped mould and shape our future.
Balloon Street:
In 1785, James Sadler, a pastry chef for a family business, became the second person to make a balloon ascent in England, soon after Vincent Lundari’s first flight – 15th September 1784.
On the 4th of October 1784, James Sadler was the first English aeronaut and the balloon rose an estimated 3,600 feet and landed in Wood Eaton – around 60 miles away. His 2nd ascent was on the 12th of November using a hydrogen-filled balloon in Buckinghamshire – a flight consisting of twenty minutes.
On the Sadler’s third flight, he hoped it would reach France but in fact descended into the Thames Estuary, resulting in a failure.
After this James Sadler made two final ascents in May 1785, the first out of the two fell behind a gentleman’s garden which is now known as ‘Balloon Street’ and the second dragged him near West Yorkshire, sustaining bad injuries and rising over 13,000 feet.
To summarise, I have observed the subtle history behind the streets of Manchester and found through multiple sources of research that there are very few, or at all any, streets with a greater depth of history featuring people of colour or a female figure. Where are the streets that should be named after Diane Abbott? – Diane Abbott is famous for being the first black woman to become an MP on civil liberty.
Despite working for hours and struggling to survive, why aren’t there streets named after women who did a lot for the industrial revolution? They are responsible for the Manchester we have today.
Will this matter, a year from now? We need to be the change
‘’I don’t think you can have pain and soul-searching doing the right thing for your child’’ – Diane Abbott