Eye On Manchester blog by Aidan O’Rourke Tutor Photographer

Personal & professional diary on photography, languages, Français, Deutsch, local interest, art, music, travel and more

Manchester Central Library on St Peters Square is a great piece of architecture, and contains many thousands of books, as well as a theatre in the basement. From Aviation to Zoology, the Central Library has everything. It’s one of the biggest municipal libraries in the UK.

Manchester Central Library St Peters Square Manchester 23 March 2006

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For those interested in the the history and development of Manchester, the place to go is the Archives and Local Studies Unit, situated on the first floor. Please note it’s not called the Manchester Local History Library, as you might expect.

Resources include books, maps, newspaper cuttings, old maps, all kinds of other historical artifacts and most importantly images, thousands of them.

They can be accessed via computer terminals inside the ARLS. There’s a basic search facility, and the quality of the images, mostly black and white, is generally good. You can order printouts of the photos for a small charge.

But you don’t have to physically go to the Central Library to see the photos. A large section of the Local Image Collection is available online, though at smaller size than viewable on the computer terminals in the library.

Just go to images.manchester.gov.uk and you can search the entire collection. The web address of the Archives and Local Studies Unit is www.manchester.gov.uk/libraries/arls.

I frequently receive requests for old images of Manchester but my Manchester photo collection only starts around 1996, so I always refer people to the Archives and Local Studies Unit. The staff there are dedicated and knowledgeable, and can help you out whatever you’re looking for.

The collection covers mainly the City of Manchester. For Salford, go to the Salford Local History Library. Other boroughs in the Manchester area also maintain image collections. More info via their websites.

Another source of local images is the Francis Frith Collection, which covers the UK and Republic of Ireland. Here’s a view of Manchester Central Library from 1965.

Reproduced courtesy of The Francis Frith Collection.

Manchester Central Library is one of my favourite places in Manchester and has survived more or less intact despite threats of downgrading or even closure. I revised for my A Levels there, researched books and articles and gathered material for websites. Now 72 years old, let’s hope it’s still there for its hundredth birthday in 2034.

Public transport is a theme important to Eye On Manchester, and this week there have been some interesting news stories: There are proposals by Hyde-based Translink UK to reinstate the disused Woodhead railway line and tunnel under the Pennines between Hattersley east of Manchester, and Tinsley near Sheffield. The line would be used to carry trucks on Channel Tunnel-style trains. The Woodhead route, electified in 1954 was Britain’s first electric main line, but was later closed. EOM says it would be great to see disused railways around Manchester reinstated, ideally also for passengers, who are using the railways in increasing numbers.

Buses on Oxford Rd Manchester | Download Large

Metrolink trams have also been in the news. The MEN reports that 26 out of 32 trams are in operation (MEN 24.4.06 p28). Six are out of action due to collisions with cars, which happen roughly once a month. There is still uncertainty about whether the system will be expanded, with a new line though east Manchester to Ashton, conversion of existing rail lines to Oldham and Rochdale, and re-use of the disused line via Chorlton to Didsbury. Meanwhile bus operators have been meeting in Warrington to discuss how services can be improved, and on the streets of Manchester, bike campaigners have been encouraging commuters to pedal to work.

EOM would like to make the following points:

1) Manchester’s public transport system in the 1930s was faster and more efficient, possibly cheaper, and with far more choice than today: There was an extensive tram network, trolleybuses, a large two-man bus fleet with cross town buses, all rail lines were in use, with a choice of routes to many destinations. Instead of short term ‘make do and mend’, the future should be all about getting back to how it was – using today’s technology.

2) Buses are the mainstay of Manchester’s transport system today, but they are often crowded, unpunctual, polluting, badly-designed and expensive. There are some exceptions, but generally, the current system leads EOM to assert that Manchester will never be a world-class city without a world-class transport system.

3) EOM advocates an imaginative approach to public transport. Let’s start afresh, be imaginative and ask ‘What if…?’, How about monorails in Manchester, water taxis in Worsley and along the Ship Canal, restored or replica two man rear platform buses operating daily routes, an extension of the East Lancashire Railway with steam engines running on commuter lines. How about a mini-air terminal in The Quays with jetpod taxis serving regional destinations, and how about a maglev high speed rail line to London?

Fanciful, maybe, but that’s how the Channel Tunnel and Manchester Ship Canal were first conceived . More in future updates of Eye On Manchester.

A new M for Manchester logo has been unveiled at the MIPIM conference in Cannes. It was designed by Peter Saville, Hacienda co-founder and leading UK designer, who I’ve met a few times. It will be used only in conjunction with high profile events and products, and is intended to tie in with Peter’s ‘original modern’ summing up of Manchester.

I searched in vain for an image of it on the web. The only reproduction I’ve seen is a tiny black and white photo of it in an article in the Manchester Evening News of Saturday 18 March page 6, The Diary. The M appears to be five overlaid neon M’s of different colours and looks quite attractive. But can a logo sell a city?

Will the M stick in peoples minds and make them want to visit Manchester or do business here? Or are there some more fundamental questions to be addressed, like Manchester’s fragmented municipal identity and public transport system?

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This is not the first Manchester M. In this composite image I’ve assembled some Manchester M’s currently visible around Manchester city centre – The Greater Manchester Transport ‘computer circuit board’ M, designed in the early 70’s, is still in use today. The MEN Arena has a distinctive branding with cleverly arranged initials seen on road signs around the city.

Another Manchester M, designed prior to 1992, is the Metrolink M, which looks like an early attempt at computer-aided design. Giant stainless steel M’s serve as billboard ad sites around Manchester city centre.