A number of the North’s most famous faces have show their support for a Crowdfunder campaign set up to save the People’s History Museum in Manchester.
After making it through a financially-challenging year due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the People’s History Museum (PHM) is starting off 2021 seeking Mancunians’ urgent support with a fundraising appeal that will help the national museum of democracy to continue its culturally-significant work in the years to come.
The People’s History Museum (PHM) said it has lost more than £200,000 since England’s first lockdown in March, and costs £900 per day to run.
Over 300 people have already pledged their support to the museum, with public figures including Ian McKellen, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Maxine Peake, Alfred Enoch, Mike Leigh, Tony Walsh and Melvyn Bragg all proudly backing the campaign.
Coronation Street star Julie Hesmondhalgh said that the People’s History Museum was her “favourite museum in the world” as it “deals with ordinary people and our struggles”, and one of the UK’s most revered actors Ian McKellen also told of the “amazing exhibitions” that he has seen at the museum – which he “cannot recommend too strongly” – and urges people to support PHM should be be in a position to do so.
Broadcaster, author and Parliamentarian Melvyn Bragg said he sees the People’s History Museum as “one of the most important museums in this country”.
He continued: “It tells the story of us – 97% of the people in this country and their fight over centuries for their rights, for democratic rights, for voting rights, for the equality of women, for trade union rights to give everyone in this country the entitlement to live their life as full as possible.”
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Bolton-born actor Maxine Peake also said PHM was “one of my favourite museums in the country”, adding that: “We will only move forward in the future if we learn from our past [and] we need places like PHM that look after that history and preserve it for future generations.”
The People’s History Museum’s Crowdfunder has a target set of £25,000, which it must achieve by 11am on Tuesday 26 January 2021.
Although the museum’s outgoings have been dramatically reduced since the pandemic first hit, it still costs £903 per day to maintain an online presence, look after the collection and take care of the historic listed building that makes up part of the museum site, so all of the money raised by the Crowdfunder will go towards alleviating the income shortfalls.
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People’s History Museum
Speaking on the Crowdfunder campaigh, Katy Ashton – Director of People’s History Museum – said: “People’s History Museum has carved out a unique role for itself in its dedication to exploring the past, present and future of British democracy and in leading the way forward in co-creation, community engagement and inclusivity.
“We find ourselves in this challenging situation at a time when we feel that the conversations, discussions and work that we carry out are more relevant than ever,
“[And] reflective of this is the contemporary collecting that we’ve carried out over the last 12 months, with COVID-19, Black Lives Matter and Brexit some of the key issues that the museum’s Collections Team have been focusing on.
“We hope that the support of our friends will carry us through the difficult months that lie in front of us and that we can continue to stride forwards with our groundbreaking work.”
Donations to the People’s History Museum can be made via the Crowdfunder here.
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And that’s not all either, as a selection of rewards are also up for grabs for those who support the campaign, and they range from a newly-added virtual tour experience for a donation of £25, to the chance to become a Radical Supporter for a pledge of £1,000.
You can find more about the People’s History Museum online here, and keep up to date its social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
News
30 years ago, the IRA detonated a 1,500kg lorry bomb on Corporation Street in the heart of Manchester – here’s the story
Georgina Pellant
Today marks three whole decades since an explosion from the inside of a lorry parked on Corporation Street shattered windows and destroyed buildings across the city centre.
Causing an evisceration that stretched for miles, when the 1,500 kilogram IRA bomb went off in 1996, it was the biggest detonation in Great Britain since the Second World War.
Following the explosion, the city fell silent – leaving rack, rubble and ruin in its wake. Famously, one red post box was left standing – today fitted with a memorial plaque in remembrance of the tragedy.
It seems scary to think that back then, most people could only stand there, watch on and worry.
The bomb caused an estimated £700 million worth of damage to Manchester’s infrastructure and economy, and over a quarter of a century later, locals still tell the stories of where they were when it went off – and of the devastation it left behind.
Notably, one resident of the Cromford Court maisonettes on top of the Arndale – a 77-year-old RAF veteran suffering from the flu – didn’t even bother to get up when the telephone warning to evacuate hit, considering himself to have survived much worse feats during his time in military service.
Having been a rear gunner in a Lancaster in the war, he reportedly told police and authorities “he was buggered if he was going to let a small bomb affect him.”
In subsequent years, Danny O’Neill has become a part of an urban legend surrounding the bomb as his staggering story has been told time and time again.
Around 90 minutes prior to the detonation, the Provisional Irish Republican Army had telephoned in warnings – meaning that around 75,000 people were able to be evacuated from the area before the bomb went off from the back of a van.
However, the bomb squad were unable to defuse it in time, leading to over 200 injuries from people still left in the area.
Thankfully, despite those injuries, there were no fatalities, and many of those reported traumas came from the shattering of thousands of windows and other damage to buildings in which unsuspecting people were getting on with their days.
Several buildings near the explosion were damaged beyond repair and had to be demolished, while many more were closed for months for structural repairs, and this prompted the biggest regeneration of Manchester city centre ever – something that is still continuing to this day, arguably at a more rapid rate than ever.
The city lay dormant for days after the explosion, as people came to terms with what had happened and kept their distance. Many moved out of the centre for a period of time, while many more simply decided not to visit for fear of another incident.
It was a desolate place, eerily quiet, and in need of some serious TLC.
According to Home Office statistics, an estimated 400 businesses within half a mile (0.8 km) of the 1996 blast were affected, 40% of which did not recover.
Credit: Manchester Libraries
Market Street – near the explosion and at that time the second-busiest shopping street in the UK – was considered by some a “fearful” place, and one that was to be “avoided like the plague”.
The prospect of pulling Manchester’s bustling city centre out of its darkest depression was not casually approached by those in charge.
It was acknowledged as a mammoth task from the get-go, but Greater Manchester has never let anything get in its way. Despite how steep the hill is that we’re standing at the base of, we always manage to reach the peak, ready to go again.
Manchester City Council green-light new venue at Medlock Square, with Mamma Mia! The Party to open the immersive space
Danny Jones
The smash-hit ‘Mamma Mia: The Party’ is set to land in Manchester next year as the maiden event of another brand-new space set to open as part of the upcoming Medlock Square development.
Etihad Campus has seen a lot of moving pieces over the past few years, be it the building of Co-op Live, the ongoing expansion of Man City’s home ground, the soon-to-launch hotel attached to the stadium and now Medlock.
But those in control of the land are content with stopping there; this looks to be just the start of a whole new evolution for the East Manchester area, with an as yet untitled new immersive arts, experience and events venue also set to join the new slate of projects.
You see another glimpse of the purpose-built mini arena, of sorts, down below.
With plans having now been approved by the City Council, the ‘immersive’ space will be situated between the Etihad, Co-op Live and Medlock Square itself, holding up to 600 guests per performance.
Currently set to open in late 2027, following the rest of the square’s launch window being fully rolled out, we still don’t know the name of this next addition, but the structure itself will dovetail with the surrounding buildings and areas as part of seasonal activations, live shows and sports screenings, as well as pop-ups, brand collaborations and more.
Looping back, the interactive, multimedia extravaganza that is ‘Mamma Mia! The Party’ will finally be making its Manc debut as part of the 10th anniversary of the all-singing, all-dancing and even all-dining in-demand production.
As per an official press release from the Medlock Square media team, the show will combine “live music, theatre, food and storytelling” and “offer visitors an unforgettable night out.”
The original UK production at The O2 in London has now surpassed more than 1,500 performances, with a total of 700k guests attending these shows in 110 countries across the globe. Safe to say it’s rather popular.
As for Medlock Square and the surrounding Etihad Campus, Manchester City supporters have also been given another look at the soon-to-open, immersive hotel tie-in experience.
With a skywalk, rooftop bar, a new MCFC shop and various other bits set to spill out onto Medlock Square, it all feels like a period of wholesale changes over in the blue half of the city – especially with the football club bidding farewell to their manager Pep Guardiola after more than a decade.
Following the new and improved North Stand being named after him in the first of many tributes, the City Football Group (CFG) are also set to commission a statue in his honour over the coming months.
Meanwhile, Medlock Square is also due to open later this year, although an official completion date has not been confirmed.
You can stay up to date with all the latest on Mamma Mia! The Part’s Manchester shows right HERE.
Not forgetting a brand-new women’s football facility, too, there is so much stuff going on over at the Etihad that it can be hard to keep track, but here’s the latest look at some of the rooms set to feature in the hotel of the same name.
Emily Sergeant -
8th January 2021 
