The lowest, most filthy, most wicked locality in Manchester... inhabited by prostitutes, their bullies, thieves, cadgers, vagrants, tramps, and in the very worst sties of filth and darkness, those unhappy wretches, the low Irish.
Tag: archaeology
Going underground
Walk through any car park in Manchester city centre and you are stepping on a thin crust of concrete that separates you from a lost underworld. Down there beneath your feet lie the carcasses of Victorian houses that were demolished in slum clearances 70 years ago. Only the foundations and the cellars remain. They were… Continue reading Going underground
The journey begins
Welcome to the blog that accompanies my book Angel Meadow: Victorian Britain's Most Savage Slum. I became fascinated by Angel Meadow when I discovered that my Victorian forefather had been among the 30,000 impoverished souls who lived there. He was a farm labourer called William Kirby who fled the rugged west coast of Ireland following… Continue reading The journey begins
Angel Meadow 