Manchester

Manchester's medieval centre stood near the meeting of the Irk and Irwell. In 1421 Thomas de la Warre founded a collegiate church, giving the market town an enduring religious institution. Woollen and linen manufacture enriched its merchants; from about 1600, fustians woven from linen and cotton added another important trade. During the Civil War the town supported Parliament, and its commercial life continued to expand around workshops, warehouses and the surrounding weaving districts.

Cotton overtook wool during the eighteenth century. The Bridgewater Canal reached Manchester from the Worsley coal mines in 1761, lowering fuel costs and helping manufacturers enlarge production. Mechanised spinning and steam-powered mills changed the town's skyline, while Liverpool supplied access to overseas cotton and export markets. The new industrial wealth rested partly on cotton grown by enslaved people across the Atlantic. Rapid growth also brought crowded housing and demands for political representation. In 1819 cavalry attacked a reform meeting at St Peter's Field in the Peterloo Massacre.